Enjoying the Last Days of August

With school (virtual) being back in session and summer break over, we still making use of these last hot days in August before hopefully soon Fall will arrive in TN. These are the moments we live for: going for a bike ride (me running after them) in the park during an early morning break, reading in the yard, sitting on the front porch after work and enjoying a beer with my love while the children run wild trying to catch a frog in the yard and al-fresco dinner with lots of laughs on the deck:

Another Saturday morning at the almost empty Y pool: 

Followed by a nap and dinner at a friend's house:

We also met, safely outdoors, with our favorite 2nd grade teacher for a lunch at the park. Mrs. Ingham is the best and the puppies she brought along were super cute. 

We received a huge box of books from The Rudolph's and my kids were in heaven: 

I also focused on increasing my mileage and while some running photos look super cool, this is how it looks when I run on my treadmill (often surrounded by a cat and some children too). 

But my early morning runs in the park/ neighborhood look more glamourous - sunrise and the fog lifting: 

Runners in training, making my momma heart happy: 

Now, we are ready for Fall to arrive!

America the Beautiful?

To be honest, lately I have been feeling very distraught, disappointed and tired. If you know me, this is unlike me as I’m usually the happy, outgoing and opportunistic person. But 2020 has put a damper on that. This year (so far) has been more than crazy and I’m not only meaning all the natural disasters and occurrences that are out of our hands but also my faith in human kind. 

19 years ago this weekend ago I arrived in the USA as a young, naive 19-year old who had just graduated from high school in Germany. I came as an Au-Pair (live-in nanny) for one year to stay with an American family in sunny FL. I had not really prepared myself of what to expect so arriving with just two suitcases in a new country and meeting my host family for the first time was overwhelming. And only a few days later, 9-11 happened and my culture shock became more pronounced. However, I adjusted well and loved being with my host family and decided to stay longer than a year here in the US. I attended college, graduated with a BA, worked as a credit analyst for a company in FL while simultaneously getting my Master’s degree. Met my future husband during a fundraiser event, had two children and moved 7 times over the past 10 years. Along the way, I met many loving and caring people who guided me, mentored me and loved me. While I never had dreamt to stay in America for longer than a year and become a US citizen, over the past 19 years, I have made this my home and build my (and my family) lives around it. 

                            I became a US citizen on November 7, 2014. 

However, this year everything seemed to have been turned upside down and I’m worried that living here in America may not be the best choice for my family. From the way the government (NOT) handled the pandemic, how information is being distributed and how it seems like that political attacks and power plays are more important right now than the well-being of our citizens. 

Last night I went to bed at 8pm because the news I read and followed were disheartening and currently keep me from getting much needed sleep. Not only is Mother Nature lashing out at us with wildfires, destructive tornadoes, powerful CAT 4 hurricanes, flooding and a virus that no one so far has been able to contain/ cure. But mostly, I’m afraid for my fellow citizens, my African American husband, my bi-racial children and the fact that some people believe that certain human lives are less valuable than others. Our president’s actions and words have been a disgrace and are in no way a role model for my children. Name calling, lying and narcissistic behavior is not what I want to instill in my children or any of our country’s future generations. On top of it, over the past few months, everything has become a political minefield and caring for others has been pushed aside in order to portray someone’s political opinions or their “right to freedom”. 

Transcript excerpts from the FEMA meeting on 8-27-2020 the president had attended: 

Yesterday, during the FEMA meeting for Hurricane Laura, Donald Trump was asked if he is postponing his acceptance speech that night due to the hurricane and the unrests in the country and this was his reply: "The country is doing very well".... not sure what country he lives in??? He does not acknowledge the deaths lost and damages incurred in one of the most powerful hurricanes nor the lives being forever changed by racial injustice nor the economic hardships people are enduring due to this prolonged pandemic state we live in. Somehow, the world’s economic powerhouse can't get Covid-19 under control, which somehow other countries could and are now battling Phase 2 while we are stuck in Phase 1. 

So instead of focusing on our citizens and their well-beings, the president chose to throw a huge political party and ego boasting speeches were delivered, in front of the White House nonetheless, with fireworks and opera music, making it look like a celebration. I’m in no mood for celebrations right now as long as there are people being shot recklessly, voices overturned and forces being deployed on innocent protesters. 

I do not believe nor support bullying, name-calling and ruining entire companies or sporting leagues by bad mouthing and simply misstating facts on Twitter or in any other way. Maybe instead of President of the United States, Donald Trump should be voted Twitter King and presented with a crown that should make his ego happy and delight his narcissistic behaviors. 

While I still think, America is a beautiful country and beautiful people live here, I’m just not seeing it that clearly right now. But there is hope, faith and kindness all around us, I just need to look a bit harder. For example, this week my daughter received her Ebay bids she purchased with her birthday money. We had asked the seller to combine the shipments as she is paying with her birthday money for those Lego purchases. When we opened the box, the Legos were wrapped in birthday paper and a Happy Birthday note was attached…This stranger’s kindness was a ray of sunshine in this dark valley I’m currently in. 

Birthday Party for a Girl

Since months, our little girl talked about her upcoming 9th birthday and was so excited when finally August 10th rolled around. Unfortunately, due to Covid (I feel like saying this phrase in every blog post since March) we were not able to go to the movie theater like she wanted to. But that didn't mean, we couldn't have a fun party at home. 

Ready for the birthday girl with a table of full of cards, gifts and surprises: 

Trying out the new Lego sets right after virtual classes ended. This was definitely a pro to home schooling...the birthday girl could enjoy her birthday at home all day long. 

She wanted a coconut cake for her birthday so we baked one and it was delicious. 

After lunch it was planned to go to the Y pool and hang out there for a while, swim and have a snack but the weather did not allow for that. A thunderstorm near by had the Y pool closed down but luckily, the splashpad in our area was not affected by the storm so the children were able to cool off a bit there. 

Back home, the birthday girl and Elliot played with her Legos while I set up the evening surprise: a tipi and movie night in the living room. It was simple to set up and we had everything at home for building a tipi and most importantly, my girl loved it. 

Finishing the day of with a  sleepover in the tipi. 

The next morning, even the cat wanted to be in the tipi. 

Our girl had a great 9th birthday celebration and was loved and spoiled. Thank you all for thinking of her and making this day special. 

HAPPY 9th BIRTHDAY, AMELIA!

 Dear Amelia, 

Today you are 9 years old, which means that you are halfway to adulthood. This can't be right though as it seems to me that you were just a wee little one trying to learn to walk, talk and explore your surroundings. But this week you started 4th grade and lately you act more like a teenager than my little girl. 

This last year, and especially the last few months during the pandemic, have been unchartered territory for all of us and despite being cooped up at home and not being able to be with your friends, you still managed to keep your spirits up. The attitude, arguments and grumpiness definitely have increased but this spunk will serve you well one day when you are an adult. 

Even though your facial features are more like your Dad's, your attitude is 110% me, which right now are the cause of constant battles of wills. I expect it to get worse during this second half of your childhood but my hope is that one day you and I will be best friends just like Oma and me. 

In more or less nine years, you will make the transition into adulthood and we have our work cut out to prepare you properly to leave this nest and be successful on your own. The wise parents of yesteryear say this half will be even more difficult than the first. Puberty, hormones, and normal teenage development will render you unrecognizable.

As we enter into this new, a little bit scary, stage of our lives I hope you remember these seven truths:

1. I will always be there for you. Even if you screw up royally, I will be there to help you figure out a solution. I won’t be able to fix everything life will throw at you but know that you always have my support.
2. You will always be my little girl. If and when you choose to streak your hair purple, try a new style of clothing, or change in ways I cannot fathom today, I will always remember exactly what you looked like as a sleeping baby who fit just so in my arms.
3. As the center of your universe changes and you begin to assert your independence, remember you are the center of mine. No matter where you go or what you do I will always worry if you are safe, if you are happy, if you need anything. This is why I will ask countless questions, some of which you will not want to answer. Forgive me, I will ask anyway.
4. You can talk to me about anything: boys, girls, sex, drugs, there is no topic that affects you that I don’t want to know about. I will have my opinions, I might even have to step in to strongly guide you back on the right path but you will always have my ear when you need it.
5. I am not perfect and I will make mistakes. As you get older these mistakes will be bigger than the ones I’ve already made. Some of my mistakes will hurt you, just as some of your mistakes will hurt me too. I am sorry.
6. The bond between us may stretch but it will never break. As the opinions of your peers become more important and the use of “seriously mommy?” increases, know that this time of challenge between us is temporary. I know someday my opinion will matter most to you in the world and that you will be happy to see me again. If you don’t believe me, ask grandma.
7. I will always love you. There is nothing you can ever do to change how I love you. This is fixed as time itself. I know there will be times when I don’t like the choices you’ve made but never doubt that you are my heart outside of my body.

I love that you are my daughter. A bright ray of sunshine in our home. May this next year of life be your best one yet. 

Happy 9th birthday!!!

Love you to the moon and back, 

Mom and Dad

Last Summer Break Hurrah and First Day of (Virtual) School

Since the weather is currently not crazy hot, we had planned a last hurrah trip to the Nashville Zoo on Sunday afternoon with our German friends and their daughter. We got there a bit early and had plenty of time to ride the zipline a couple of times since it wasn't crowded at all. The children also were the only ones on the carousel. 

Today was the children's first day back to school. But this year, school looks a lot different than in the past few years. They are attending Virtual Online Learning from home due to the continued Covid-19 pandemic. Nonetheless, the children were excited to see who their teacher is and who else they recognize in their classes. 

In order to have a productive work/ learning environment, we moved a lot of furniture and computers around so that each child has their own space. The animals and their stuff share now all one space as well. It turned out pretty good: 

Starting off right on the first day of school:

The first morning was a bit hectic as Amelia's first zoom call began at 7:15am and parents were sitting in to get to know the teacher and get introduced to Google Classroom and learn how to view their assignments. At 7:45am, Elliot had his first zoom call and so I was zipping back and forth between two classes.  The good thing about the virtual schooling is that the children still got teachers from their actual school and are already familiar with them. Amelia has Mr. Jones for 4th grade and Elliot has Mrs. Hines for 1st grade. 

Since this is introduction week and the students who are going to in-class sessions are only attending twice a week classes (hybrid schedule), our two kids were done after an hour each with their school day. Thus, in the early afternoon, we headed to the pool where we met my friend Lisa and her 3 boys. The kids like to have some friends to play with in the water  but also like to chat and look at their books after toweling off. 

And to celebrate the end to the longest Spring Break ever and the fact that the temperature in the evening was cool enough to sit outside, Derrick and I had a beer on the porch after putting the kids to bed. We will see how this virtual schooling works out and if not, we are ready to pull them out and homeschool them as we don't believe that going back to school is a safe options until at least Spring time.