To Wonderful Friends!

"Of all the things which wisdom provides to make us entirely happy,
much the greatest is the possession of friendship."
Epicurus

Over the past few weeks I said "goodbye" to a lot of dear friends. Each goodbye said got harder and harder as the finality of the close of a wonderful chapter of our lives struck me. So many fabulous memories over the past few years, especially while Dan was in Law School. I have made some of my dearest, best friends, and now am having to leave them, not knowing exactly when I'll see them again. It has been hard to say goodbye for Josh too. He keeps asking when he can play with his friends again. I gently tell him that we won't be back for a long time, but that we'll make new friends in Germany; to which he puts on his best pout face and mopes around for a minute, then gets distracted and runs off to something else... I miss my friends so much! I miss the accessibility of having a friend right down the road, someone I know I could just always drop by to see, to talk, to laugh with. True friendship is of the greatest worth to my soul, oh where would I be without such dear friends! Thank you for your friendship.

Friendly People in airports

Here's to the friendly people in airports and on airplanes! As a young mother nothing causes so much stress as to travel with 2 small kids, all of the luggage, car seats, snacks, toys, diapers, etc. by myself. It isn't easy. I really appreciate when kind strangers lend a helping hand; picking up my bag and carrying it for me as I carry my two crying kids, repositioning my luggage and car seats after they topple to the ground from the cart, being willing to sit by the me and the kids with a smile and helping out during the flight, flight attendants who go out of their way to make the kids feel comfortable and have fun, pilots who let Josh rattle off as many questions as he can think of about all the buttons in the cockpit (even letting him go in the cockpit!) or just people who smile at us with genuine interest or entertainment (I'm sure it is a spectacle to behold!) instead of giving me a disapproving look that says "why on earth did you have children, and why did you bring them on the flight I'm going to be on!" I love my kids and I love traveling. It is tough to travel with kids, but the more you do it the better you get, as well as the kids get used to traveling. My kids have become very flexible with different time zones, different housing arrangements, patience in the airport, and getting a hands-on geograpy lesson. So here's to all of those kind strangers that make traveling with kids easier to handle, a big THANKS!!! It really means so much to a young mom to have a little help!