Wednesday, November 30, 2011

A few things I've learned...

This week has been rather normal in the scheme of things.  Somehow I feel like the normalcy is teaching me a few things about myself, about Germany, about being a mom, and about being a pet owner.

First, this is what happens when the winter decides not to come on time - FOG! And we are getting lots of it. Turns out we moved to Germany in time to experience the driest November on record.  Not only have we not seen any snow yet, but they are fighting forest fires in the Black Forest, and the rivers are running dangerously low.  Neither of which are things Germans are accustomed to. The fog is thick like soup and when it clears it leaves a fine dusting of frost on everything.

Second, the Germans are insanely bright when it comes to intuitive thinking.  (Is that an Oxymoron?)  No one likes scraping frost off of a car window first thing in the morning.  Even the Germans hate this with a passion.  To avoid this dreaded past time they lay blankets, cardboard boxes, or sun visors across their windshields to block the ice.  It's genius really.  Lucky for us, we have our one vehicle in a cozy garage to hide from the frost at night, but if we ever need to escape the scraping, I'm going to throw a blanket on the windshield.  Just genius!

Third, when you have a front door that locks automatically when you shut it, taking a walk with a toddler and a dog can become an occupational hazard, or rather, it can be taking a huge risk.  What do you do when you decide to roll down a hill with your toddler and laugh uncontrollably, only to find out an hour later when you are ready to escape the cold that your keys are no longer in your pocket?  You panic, of course.  You probably know by now that's my response for everything.  It works though.  If I keep up these types of shenanigans, I won't need to worry about dieting because I race around and sweat like a banshee until I find what I'm looking for.  I'm inside a warm house now, so clearly this had a happy ending.  Let's just say I have developed multiple steps for ensuring the keys are in my hand when I walk out the door, and securely zipped in my pocket until we return.  Can't say I'll be rolling down any hills in the near future either, but you never know.

Fourth, sending out Christmas cards before Thanksgiving isn't apparently necessary to make sure all our friends and family get those cards before the holidays.  It's the first time I've ever been early for something like this in my life.  You can thank the thousands of miles between us and you for the early arrival of our card.  At least this way everyone should have our address.

Fifth, it hurts like a mo-fo to get in your two-year molars.  You also get symptoms like a cold, so you can't breath, you cough, and you have a nasty headache.  Yet, despite this, my little man is sleeping like an angel.  He's just a crazy man when he's awake, but we'll cut him some slack.

Sixth, when your dog gets old on you the good discipline goes out with the youth.  My beloved pup turned 13 years old this month and she has added some interesting new spice to our lives.  Her loss of hearing apparently makes her think we can't hear either.  She's starving all the time and gets into the trash and eats off your plate like a dingo.  Where did my good 'ol girl go?  It used to take her forever to find the perfect tuft of grass to poop on.  Now grass isn't even necessary.  Any 'ol surface will do.  Yep, the pup is getting old.

Seventh, all hell breaks loose in the house when your outdoor cat is too wimpy to be out in the cold.  Sergeant Pepper races around the house howling all day and uses Lucy as a punching bag.  Keeps things rather exciting.

And finally, cows are scary, horses are cool, and pajamas with our favorite cartoon characters on them makes bedtime (and nighttime) so much easier.

Yep, I've been learning a fair amount this week.  I'm sure I've left off some good parts, like lattes with our new espresso machine are heavenly, but I'll save those for another blog.


1 comment:

  1. We got your Christmas card yesterday!!! Miss you guys...If you were in the states, I would have had a spare key waiting for you!!!

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