A week of adventures.....

  This morning I was thinking about my last week.  Had you asked me what I have been up to, I may have answered, "Not much."  Life in Germany is starting to feel ordinary unless we do the extraordinary.  In a few minutes, I plan on waking up my husband(as it is nearly noon) and telling him the family would like to take a drive.


  This week started out quite ordinary.  We live in a small apartment where it is necessary for my boys to share a room. My oldest son wanted to split the space by taking the bunkbeds apart and making each side of the room their own spot.  I agreed to help him.  After 5 long hours, we finally accomplished the task and I now have two happy boys.

  Tuesday-   I was off to Ramstein(1 1/2 away from here) to visit a friend and to drop my daughter off for a MEGA(3 night) sleepover.  It was weird leaving her, but I trust my friend and new Julia would be well cared for.   I was nervous to drive that far without another adult in the car, but i am glad I did!!  Now, I know I can.

  Wed...  Off to Eifel park.   I went to Eifel Park with one of my newest greatest friends.  funny how some people fall into your life and feel like they have been there forever.   Ilike friends like that.  It is easy.  Friendship shold feel natural and not forced,    Well, back to our day.  we went to the Eifel park to let our kids play.  They had a really fun day. The kids laughed at the magic mirrors.  Using their byrlap sacks, They raced down the huge slides.  They rode the mini roller coaster over and over again.  We ate.  They played.  they even argues a bit too.  All in all it was great day.

  There was one momenet that will forever stick out my memory.      As we were exiting the park, we noticed a man standing up on the paddle boat.  His friends were obviously searching for something in the water.   An cultural difference between our two countries was about place, leaving my friend 12 year old daughter extremely red in the face.  The man standing in the boat fidgeted with his belt and then pulled down his shorts.  There he stood in full view in his black underwear and a  T-Shirt.  I have no idea what that T-shirt looked like!!  We all turned away and started to giggle.  the Germans truly enjoyed our reaction and they joined in on the laughter.  The man entered the water. We will never know if they found what they were looking for because the park closing and we had to leave.  It was a fun ending to a good day.  

  Wed wasn't quite over, but since a just a trip to the BX, I don't have much to write about.  well...we did run into a very nice friend and I found great deal on a pair of shoes.

   Thursday should have been unremarkable other than a fun planned day.  We met our friends up at the library for the children's summer reading program.  The plan was library, picnic and park with this group of friends.  The we were shopping for our presents for Bunco later that evening.  I was running late so our picnic lunch was made Burger King.     Feeling the need to not pressure myself, I felt no guilt at not making our lunch.  

A true love. Did they even know?

   Last night, my husband and I headed out to a Farewell Dinner.   On the way, we stopped to pick up one of my husbands friends.   On the way there, I wondered why this mans wife was not coming.  My husband said she was not feeling well.   I felt sad because I would have like to have met her.    This is something that is not likely to happen as we are all moving in the near future.

  The man...starts talking about his wife.  He compliments her cooking.  He seems to admire her in a way any woman would wish to be admired by their own husband.  Then he talks about her pain and medical struggles.  He talks about a health condition that is keeping her from the goodbye dinner.  What struck me....was his desire for his wife to be by his side.  His desire for her to be healthy after a 10 year battle with an unknown illness.  It struck me.....   How much he loves her.

  I wondered. Does she even know?  Does she know how lucky she is to have this man standing by her side?  She is sick.  He loves her anyways.  He spoke fondly of her for most of the evening.  He stopped and bought her a favorite cookie on the way home.   Even when his wife was not with him in person, he carries her in his heart in spirit.   Does she know?

  Does he know?   Does he know how he sounded to an almost stranger.  Does he know that I sat astonished by his devotion and love to his wife?    His desire to help his wife.  His willingness to give her the best life he can.   Does he know that he holds the secret to a happy marriage.

  Do they know?  Really, I wondered if they know or do they take each other for granted.  True love like this does not happen all that often.   This mans eyes both lit up and looked sad as he talked about is wife.  The love, the desire, the kindness there is something I would wish for everyone to see.

  They probably know.    I will most likely never see this man again nor ever meet his wife.   I felt lucky to get a glimpse of what true love looks like.    I hope they know.


  

P.S I Love You

Dear Hayden,

If I can do anything with this life, I will give you the tools to have a job and a chance for a wife. I would give you all that I had, just so you would not have to go through this life being sad. I will help you heal. I would give up everything I am, to help you become a man. The most important thing that I want you to know.... is that I believe in you. You can and do anything you set your mind too. You are perfect just the way you are. You can and will go far.

-mom

P.S. I love you

David's First Reaction

 An old post edited...   I was asked to write a letter explaining my sons food allergies to help change and rewrite the allergy guidelines for student attending school in the state of North Dakota...   Here is our story...


 David's First Reaction

     I was asked to write about the 1st reaction Davy had. Boy...that is a hard question to answer. Davy was born May 6, 2003. He was perfect in all ways. It wasn't until he was about 6 months old, that we started to clue in that something was not quite right. David's skin showed signs of eczema. We were prescribed the normal arsenal of treatments. Poor David would cry and cry whenever we put these lotions on his skin. His skin continued to get worse and worse. We did not know at that time that we were putting ingredients on his skin that he was allergic too. He then started lying down after dinner. His belly would hurt. He eyes always seemed puffy. We went back to the doctors several times. It was always the same diagnosis...Eczema.

   One night, we put David to bed. A few hours passed. It was around 11PM when we heard the strange sounds coming from his room. My poor boy was having a hard time breathing. My husband rushed him off to the 24 hour Urgent Care where they gave him two breathing treatments. Once he was able to breathe without difficulty, the doctors sent him home. Mark told me that they thought he may have the croup. The next morning, my son was fine. No illness at all. I knew something else was wrong. I made another appointment and asked for him to be tested for food allergies. The doctor reassured me that food allergies were rare. But she was kind and wanted to put my mind at ease, so she ordered a blood test. Two weeks later, the phone rang. I was not home. The caller ID suggested that we had been called about eight times. The doctor left a message that said to call her right away. For the 1st time in my life, I was not able to make a call. Instead, my husband made the call. I stood beside him and heard him say, "Uh huh... Okay . So Corn, wheat, soy, fish, shellfish, peanuts, milk and eggs."

    To this day that memory brings back many emotions that are difficult to put in writing. I knew our life had just changed in a way that I could not comprehend. I sat down with David and told him what the doctor had said. David's response makes me smile. He said in all the wisdom of a 3 1/2 to 4 year old, "Oh so that is what is making me sick. Oh good, then I just won't eat those foods." He seemed relieved that we would be able to help him. He has always been a champ about his allergies. It has been a long road, but I am happy to say that my son has outgrown all but 4(fish, shellfish, tree nuts and peanuts) of his allergies. There is hope for our children. We are going to continue having him tested on a yearly basis in hopes that he will one day outgrow all of his allergies. In the meantime, knowing he is safe when we send to school is a gift.

                                                                  The End

I am now grandparentless

   As I sit here,  all I can think is that I am now grandparentless.  Is that even a word, grandparentless?  I don't know and I am not going to bother trying to look it up.  It has been years since I saw my grandmother.  She was an interesting lady.  My main memory of her is hearing her voice.  She would say with the best southern drawl that you can imagine, "I love you Bonnie."   Funny how that is all that I can hear at this moment in time.  I love you too Granny.  I didn't know you as well as I would have liked, but I love you too....

   Yesterday morning my grandmother passed on.  She lived a long life of 92 years.  My dad speaks often of her.  He loves her.  I know he does.    My dad is about as gruff as a fluffy soft teddy bear.  There is not one mean bone in that mans heart.  I don't know why he pretends to be cranky.  Maybe he feels cranky, but he has a huge heart.  I think he feels things on a deeper level than most people. Perhaps getting injured easier than others.  My oldest son reminds me a lot of my dad.

   I do believe I am rambling in my typing.  My thoughts feel jumbled this morning.    One thought I shared with my children last night is....   After someone you love dies, you learn to live a new normal.   They stay a part of you.  Sometimes it is just the whiff of lavendar and suddenly they are in the room with you again, even for just a moment.

    I can't be with my family right now and I think that bothers me more than anything else.  My father would never say he wants me there.  He knows I am in Germany. I can only guess that he would say he understands as I know he does.  Doesn't change the fact that I want to be there for him.  I would like to stand by his side.

A Bit Quirky, Perhaps a Little Unique

I often look at the people I know in life and admire them for their attitudes, for their styles, and for their choices. I don't want to be them though. I like being me."   ~me


  The quote above came from a note I wrote on Facebook a while back.   It still stands true.  I do not want to be anyone other than myself.   Every once in a while I come across someone who wants to be friends, but they want  to change me into someone I am not, fitting their mold.   I have never fit any mold other than the one God gave me.  To them, I am broken.    To me, I am just fine.

   I consider myself to be a bit quirky, perhaps a little unique.   I like being creative.  Although I have never tried to create art for others, I consider myself a bit of an artist especially in the garden.  I see pictures in my mind of what the plants will look like in a few months down the road.  I can see them wisping over the edges of flowers boxes bursting in vibrant colors of fuchsia, violets, reds and even the brightest of yellows.  The border plants will creep into the crevices of sidewalks.    I remember a time in my life when I only had a few friends and my flower garden was spectacular.  It had its bumps, but it was a truly happy time in my life.  I heard the whispers.  Always knew what they were saying, but I did not really care.  I loved being outside with the flowers.  I loved gardening.  I used to imagine I was in the middle of the country and no one could see me.  My gardening helped me to escape the other worries in my life. Gardening  sets me free....

Might not have a yard right now, but at least I have a balcony.  :)

   A moment off track into a memory, but now back on track to my main point.  We are all unique individuals.  Each of us holds a special gift to be shared.    In each of my friends, I look for what makes them special, unique.   I love each of them for being who they are and not who I need them to be.   Hopefully they see me for who I am and not for who I am not.

  

I have a huge dilemma!!

  I have a huge dilemma this morning!!   Well, not really.    My dilemma is something I used to only dream about.  Now, I get to live a life that I have always wanted, one of travel.

  For the next couple of years, we are fortunate enough to live in the beautiful country of Germany.  Many countries border us. There is Luxembourg, Belgium, France, and the Netherlands just to name a few.  The choices of where to go and what to do seem limitless.  The time we have here does not seem like it could possibly fit in everything we want to do. That brings me to my dilemma.  Where are we going to go this weekend?   I have tons ideas.  That is my problem,  narrowing down my choices and picking just one.  

  Do we go to Koln or perhaps to the Alps?  Do we travel once again to a favorite spot of the North Sea in Holland or do we try something new?  Shall we go to France for the first time as a family or perhaps explore Germany even more?  These choices are lucky.  Where do we go instead of there is nothing to do.   What a dilemma!   Of course, I do say that with a big smile on my face.

  Hopefully by tomorrow, being that it is Friday and all, we will have it figured out.  I am thinking a day trip may be in order.  Somewhere close, perhaps a two hour drive or less.  I would like there to be  history, some romantic buildings and a beautiful landscape or possibly the seaside.  That describes just about everywhere in Europe!  

  Any ideas?