"Our planet is not fragile at its own time scale, and we, pitiful latecomers in the last microsecond of our planetary year, are stewards of nothing in the long run."
                                                                                                                                                                                 Stephen Jay Gould

We took a break and packed the bicycles in the car and drove west to the flat land to look out at the sea. It was reassuring. On very sunny days, we cycled on top of the dikes and on bumpy cobble-stone streets through villages where every front window is washed and sparkling. A clean front window without curtains, my Dutch friends explain to me,  is a message to the world that we have nothing to hide, that our souls are pure.
We watched the sun set every evening in absolute perfection, and we felt very small and insignificant.

We ate stroopwafels sitting on the jetty with out feet dangling, watching the sailboats. I forgot to put on sunscreen. I forgot the lab report that was waiting for me on the kitchen table back home.