Christmas Greetings 2021

 Dear Friends and Family,

It is Christmas time, and the year comes to an end. Again, this year was more than unusual, but mask requirements and lockdown are probably words, to which one has become accustomed too and for the time being probably will continue to be part of our vocabulary. Nevertheless, we hope that you are well and healthy. From the bottom of our hearts, we wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

This year started off with an ice/ snowstorm that brought us a lot of sledding fun and a week off from school. It was great to have such freezing temperatures here in the South and enough snow to go sledding. Whether old or young, we were all out and about.

2021 also held some changes in store for us: Amelia and Elliot are doing great and despite several "school changes" (online to classroom, summer school, 10 days in the classroom, then 2.5 months a new online school and now back in the classroom) they have never complained and adjusted well. They are happy to be with their friends again and now that they are also vaccinated, normal everyday life is returning slowly. Amelia is our little artist and goes to art club once a week. Elliot is our tennis player and also competed in a few tournaments this summer and even came in 2nd place. They have also been spending a lot of time in the pool and the weekly swim practice is proving successful. Other than that, they both read a lot or play with Legos. Amelia would like to become an author and writes many stories in her spare time. Elliot can always be spotted with a ball in his hand or playing his Pokémon cards. 

This year was also very exciting for me as lots of changes occurred at my company. At the beginning of the year, the company was restructured, and several people were laid off, including my entire marketing team and boss, and I was asked to take over the marketing department. Thus, over the past 10 months, I have adjusted my work schedule and added new functions to my repertoire such as project management for our new locations in China and India, organizing and setting up tradeshows, webinars and working on other marketing functions next to my previous job functions. Thus, 60-70 hour weeks are quite normal. I enjoy the new challenges and thanks to a well-deserved promotion to Head of Marketing, it has been a professional advancement for me. To stay physically and mentally fit, I go running. I run 80-90 miles a month. This year, I finally took part in live races again and even won a 2nd place in the 15km and 5km race. I also “upgraded” to the master category (40 years +) this year but feel great and thankful to be able to be so active. 

For Derrick, this year was rather quiet professionally, as he did not have to travel due to Covid regulations and thus spent a lot of time at home with the kids until November. He fully supported me with my professional ambitions and thus helped a lot the kids with their online school and took over some of my household functions. Since November he is finally allowed to go on business trips again and I am flexible when I go to the office or work from home. Otherwise, there is always a lot to do in the house or garden. 

This year, we went to South Carolina for a few days at the end of May, where we visited Grandma and Grandpa and then spent a few days at the beach. Sand, sun and ocean were just the thing to unwind. In July we went to San Francisco, CA for 7 days, where we stayed with friends and explored the area. The weather was great: from cooler temperatures at the coast and in the city to afternoon heat and swimming in the pool at our friends' place. The highlight of the trip was our IFly experience in the wind tunnel. Children as well as parents enjoyed the individual flight experience, and we definitely want to repeat it again.

In November, we went on a rather spontaneous visit to Germany. Since my mother unexpectedly had a heart attack and there is never a right time in these Covid times, the children and I went for a quick two-week visit. It had been 4 years since the kids had last been to Germany and I was last time there 2 weeks. The visit went by way too fast and even though we couldn't see everyone, it was great to be back home. Especially in the Advent season that included one or two visits to the Christmas markets. And while we were there, our newest family member, my nephew Emil, was born and I was able to get some newborn snuggles in.

December called for one last tradeshow for me and we also celebrated Elliot’s 8th birthday on the 13th. We are looking forward to a quiet and low-key Christmas with just the four of us. The Christmas magic is still alive in our house, at least for this year, and so it is always a celebration of joy and sparkling eyes. Let's see what 2022 has in store for us. Our goal is still to move to Europe for a few years. And if that doesn't work out soon, then a move to the East Coast. We are ready for a change of scenery. A home is always where the heart is, after all. 

Merry Christmas!