Some Bulldog pride & a few reflections.....

So after 'dropping the ball' in the beginning of the year with ordering school shirts for the kids I finally ordered them before the holiday break..they just arrived.  They are the Robinson Elementary Middle School Bulldogs (RBEMS) I felt horrible because when I go to pick the kids up at school in the afternoons on Fridays & other alloted spirit days a good majority of the kids had them on.  Somewhere I missed the initial email/memo.  But that brought me to some other reflections about living abroad in general & not being too hard on myself since when the kids started school we had only been in our base apartment two days.   Received our  express shipment with all their school clothes, supplies, coats etc. a week after we moved in & they started school. (Despite my best intentions & planning to have it early)  We had one computer, Kirk's laptop & a very empty apartment with army loaner furniture...which you can compare to any furniture in your dorm room commons area from college.  All of this after we packed out of our house mid July & spent a month plus in hotels.

I've always considered myself a 'glass half full' kinda gal.  And we couldn't contain our excitement about  snagging an overseas set of orders which we had dreamed of since we were first married.  I, literally, am still pinching myself 6 months later & say to myself "we are really in Germany".  So many experiences have been extremely positive & fantastic.  But there can be struggles & adjustments.   Arriving is very disorienting there is the check in process, having to take a new drivers test, figuring out where you will live (literally a ground hog day experience with housing), getting the kids enrolled in school & oh yeah that minor thing...you don't speak the language?!  But we embraced & dove in head first with mass transit & getting out into the culture/exploring.  Fortunately our positive attitude & desire to embrace a new culture rubbed off on the kids & made the transition much easier for us.  That coupled with lots of advice from good friends who have been here before & a wonderful sponsorship experience.  However, I won't lie to you & say it has been super intimidating at times getting out there.  It took me 3 months before I felt comfortable to drive?! And suffering from test anxiety all my life I had no idea if I'd even pass the drivers test.  The germans are a very reserved people.  They don't always say "hi" or talk/smile at you in public like we do so that takes some getting used to.  But I have effectively learned common phrases especially "excuse me" &  "I'm sorry" while traveling with the kids.

All this being said you can still find yourself with the "grass is greener" syndrome.  The  things we are all starting miss is our house & yard.  I think we all miss the square footage, our media room, the grill out back & man do I miss opening the back door so I can let  our dog, Reggie,  outside when needed.  I have to admit I miss running to Wal-mart just because or if I needed something.  The kids miss their friends on our old street.  Kirk misses flying.  And I miss the ocean.   I never took my walks on Rocky Point & Joseph Whidbey Park for granted staring at the snow capped Olympic Mountains & the San Juan Islands in the distance.   Even recently poor Brynn says she wished we never moved...that is not surprising & good that she is expressing herself.

 We chose to live on base instead of out on the economy so the kids would be surrounded by english speaking friends & have a comfort zone.  I love that they walk to school ever day & the both love their school & teachers.  They are thriving in their classrooms.  Again, back to the Bulldog pride:-)  On the bright side it's great when the sun is shining & you can send the kids out to play at the park next to our building for hours & listen to the laughter & voices of children through our windows.  Especially after a dark winter where people can stay pent up inside their apartments.  A kind of hibernation  if you will.  It's also fun that Kirk can go grill dinner & we run into our neighbors to stop & chat.  Or that we live in a stairwell building & always have the comfort of someone close if we should need or ask of anything.  Our neighbors downstairs (now moved as of a few days) greeted us so wonderfully & let us 'pirate' their internet, as it takes forever & a day to get set up here,  so we could use the computer & set it up so we could watch shows while awaiting our tv, computer & main shipment.  And lastly we are up on a hill north of the city surrounded by beautiful vineyards..how can you beat that?!

No matter what we are SO grateful for this experience.  It has pushed our comfort zones at times but mostly been so positive.  I think that if you focus on the positive & relay that sometimes people think it's an easy transition.   When in fact it is a lot of work.  Our hope is that the kids leave more open minded to change, new languages, culture & experiences.  I think we will too.  And a good friend told me this experience would make us closer as a family which is so true.   Not only is Kirk home but we spend a lot of time together without stateside conveniences  & distractions.  And of course you can't beat the travel...what an amazing opportunity!  Speaking of which, we've had wonderful weather & sunshine this weekend & how cool is it to say "Let's go to France" tomorrow??!  Tomorrow we head to France a little over an hour away for a day trip & to experience something new & make some wonderful memories....standby for the next post....