Another year, another 6 posts?

I could take this moment to lament and apologize that I am not one of those people and we are not one of those families that are especially good at keeping the world updated on the happenings in our lives, but frankly, I'm not one of those people that feel particularly guilty about that and neither are we one of those families. So, if you are anxious to hear more about us and find you aren't getting your fill by checking in here, I recommend you send us an e-mail or give us a call. The fact is, we still love you and would love to hear from any of you. And yes, we are much better about returning e-mails.

Now, to give you an idea of what has been going on in our lives: Not much. Yes, one of the Special Guest Stars in my life did return home relatively recently, but while that was wonderful and long awaited, it did not bring any substantially noteworthy changes. Instead of kicking around Germany by myself, I now have a companion. It's nice. I'm happy. But I don't really think it's something you want to read about.

On another front, I suppose those of you who are in the states and have never lived overseas think that our life here must be very exciting, filled with beer, and pretzels, and quaint German towns, and that's partially true. There is beer and it's good, but the wine in this area is also good. There are pretzels, and crepes, and waffles, but like most things you have constant access to they really aren't that exciting. (Okay, yes, when there is no crowd in front of the counter at Babarossa Backerei I have been known to dart off gleefully to get myself a Kase Brezeln and yes, I did once punch my husband because he distracted me and prevented me from going to the counter when there were no other people there, but really, that was only one instance (maybe two or three) and really isn't indicative of how unexciting the pretzels really are.) And yes, this place is chock full of quaint and German and towns and is really a nice place to live, but in the last (almost) year that we've been here we have become used to it. If you must say jaded to make you feel better about living in places like Texas or Ohio, I'm okay with that, but really, this isn't that exciting. Except, that's precisely what is so wonderful about it. Both my main SGS and I LOVE it here. We are quite certain that someday we will look back on his career and think that Germany was the most wonderful place we got to live. It cannot be described how great we think it is because it is something that matches US so well and wouldn't necessarily mean a thing to anyone else. Suffice it to say that, for me at least, coming to Germany has felt like coming home.

You should know, of course, that it isn't all perfect. I was treated like a leper one day because I chose to pay by credit card (after having been assured that it was okay by a salesman on the floor), there have been days and weeks and months when I believed that the sun was a myth or something I must have imagined, and my absolute lackadaisical attitude about learning the language I wanted to be fluent in within a year (I still have one and a half months) has made me feel like an idiot more times than I can recount, but, all that being said, I still wish there was some way I could remain an American and have all the rights and privileges associated without ever having to leave Germany. But no, leave Germany I someday will and I am fairly certain that on that day I will cry. Until then, I will carry on enjoying my life here. If you are fortunate (or unfortunate, perhaps) I will continue to post my observations and maybe, eventually, a picture or two.