Germany

Leaving Germany is a bittersweet thing. This has been my home for my entire married life, I spent both of my pregnancies here, both of my daughters were born here, I have friends that I hate to leave, and I will miss the traveling. I love that everything is closed on Sunday, that people walk to the bakery for their bread, that the church is the most prominent building in town, and that every town has paths through the fields and woods for wandering. I'll miss the eis cafes, the chocolate, rolls with pumpkin seeds, the white asparagus, and the sweet, white wine. Living here has been a wonderful experience and I hope the opportunity presents itself again in a few years.

At the same time I cannot wait to celebrate Christmas with my family. I have not been in Oregon for Christmas since 2005. I want to sip peppermint mochas as Starbucks, throw snowballs with my family, and see all my old friends.

Moving to New Mexico will be an adventure. It's our first time living in a desert climate and we're a bit afraid of the spiders and scorpions. I'm not a big fan of dry skin and chapped lips either. We do love small towns and we'll be buying our first home there and we're very excited about that. I can't wait to paint walls and decorate a home that is really mine. I'm looking forward to good Mexican food, sunshine, real camping, and cheap flip flops at Walmart. Even though I'm not a big fan of tv I like the idea of being able to watch the ball drop at midnight instead of 6am, seeing superbowl commercials instead of AFN commercials, and letting the kids watch Sesame Street occasionally. I want to watch streaming videos online and listen to country music more than once a week. It will be nice to not have to pay to use a public restroom and to use a changing table for the baby instead of my lap when she needs a dry diaper.

Germany, thank you for all of the wonderful memories. I will miss you and I hope to be back again someday.