Everything is Relative

It's been almost a year ago that we left on our 3 month adventure to Europe.  We read many blogs about families that did the same sort of world travel and more than a few of them came back to the U.S. and sold their homes and decided to live differently.  Of course we knew we would never do something quite so drastic.......can you see where this is going?

We love our home and it has served us well the last 12 years and now it is time for a change.  After living for 3 months with just the clothes and necessities on our backs we realized that we don't need all the extra.  I personally felt like I was stuffocating when we got back.  Sure, it's all nice stuff but I started to feel in bondage to it.  Dennis and I shared our feelings and thoughts on a regular basis as we evaluated our life here vs. there.  So much in life is relative.  We now had a stark difference to compare to and we could really disect our lifestyle and make the appropriate changes instead of wallowing in our emotions and not doing anything about it.  We did need to step outside our "normal" lives to get a clear picture of what we wanted and to see distinctly what we needed to do differently.   

It was so good to be home and see friends and family, but honestly my heart ached and longed to go back shortly after we had returned.  That is not something I felt I could share except with the sweet people that had the same experience I did.  We all agreed, it was a strange feeling but it's how we felt.  We asked ourselves, what is it we miss?  It was or is a combination of a few things: the closeness to each other and seeing God's hand at work daily as we relied heavily on him and then waiting and watching how he worked as our days unfolded.  No distraction of tv or phones allowed for us to be mindful of each other and our surroundings. We were spoiled with every day being a new adventure and lurking around every corner were photo opps and stories waiting to be brought back home. There were  memories to be made and our senses stimulated by everything new and desiring to absorb every moment so as not to forget it.

It's funny, I have lived in this area for 37 years minus 3 months and when it rains I think of Switzerland.  When I hear the deep moo of a cow I remember the soft pink noses on my morning runs through the pastures outside the villages.  When I eat my mom's homemade pizza I long for Rome.  When my feet hit a brambly trail with overgrown trees I think of Germany.  What's wrong with me?  Well, it's not just me.  The girls step out on the porch in the morning and say, "Today feels like a cool morning in Switzerland" or "the sunset reminds me of Bad Tolz, Germany." 

On our way back to the USA we asked everybody if they'd go again and for how long.  Everyone agreed on 6 weeks.  Three weeks ago Dennis went down to tell the girls good night and didn't come back up for two hours.  He walked in the bedroom with glassy eyes and told me about his conversation with them.  The girls want to go back for another 3 months and do everything over again, exactly the same.  They said, "We even want to go through all the boring museums that Mom drug us through."  What a gift to our ears.

Raleigh 2 1/2, Our Little Gentleman

Yes, we are simplifying our lives. 
We sold our house by word of mouth in a matter of weeks.  I knocked on the door of a home that had been for sale earlier in the year, flowers in hand and no idea what waited for me on the other side. Within 48 hours I heard back from the owners daughter that they would be willing to rent to our family.   We were an answer to each other's prayers. 

How do the kids feel about it? From the moment we mentioned it they were excited with comments like, "We don't need this big house."  I don't think it would have been so easy had we not lived in such close quarters for 3 months.  We are all excited and ready to let go of a few things. So we now have a new little adventure beginning right at home! 

For our far-away friends we posted some pics of the kids because they have changed some since our last post.  Still the same silly kids just a little taller.


Ireland (14) 



Indi (14)

Annabelle, our Ballerina (10 )

We were in downtown Madrid for one week, our last week.  Our minds were boggled every day at the multifaceted city.  Madrid is the largest city in Spain and the third largest in the European Union.
Our apartment was spacious and clean and only two blocks from a main artery of the city, two blocks from high fashion, two blocks from Starbucks, two blocks from a bakery, two blocks from a grocery store.  I knew from the moment we met we would become fast friends, this city and I.

We arrived on the Tuesday night before Thanksgiving.  The girls found an English speaking channel with a rusty brown western and were so excited to be watching the first bits of t.v. in three months, even Raleigh was taken with it.  While they were en-tranced Dennis and I scooted out for a trip to the grocery store, giddy to see what funny things we could find.  Everything seemed so normal and lovely until the syrup we had longed for during the past 11 weeks was now right in front of us.....under lock and key!

Also in a locked box was canned ham!

We tried to gather up the things needed for a good Thanksgiving meal along with other essentials for the week and jumped in the shortest line.  The little lady ahead of us must have been shopping for the soup kitchen.  We stood in line behind her for 20 minutes but enjoyed watching all that went on around us.  Most people were having their groceries bagged and then put into gray bins with wheels, then the checker would tape the customer's name and number to their bins and wheel them to what appeared to be security personnel.  We did not understand what was happening until we were out on the sidewalk.  Customers leave their groceries in the store while they get their car and then pick them up.  Life without parking lots....it never occurred to us what that might be like. 

We were lucky enough to find a parking space just around the corner from our apartment but would need to plug the meter every two hours or go to a parking garage for an unreasonable amount.  A parking ticket would be 90 Euros if we missed plugging the meter so we opted to turn our car in the next day and take the next week of city by foot and subway.  Little did we know we would walk 45 glorious miles over the next 6 days.

We started our journey to one of the main plazas and were amazed at what seemed to be lots of people.  At the next plaza we took in the bizarre sights of people dressed up in all sorts of get-ups hoping to score a few coins.  It was a Wednesay.  Just another day for these people of the city and for us it seemed to be an extravaganza.

This spiderman lacked the physique of the one I remember in the movies. 

This G.I. Joe stood perfectly still until a coin was tossed in his bucket and then he would move in a mechanical-like state.

Thanksgiving Morning:

 I am sitting in a Starbucks looking out the window as people pass by un-aware of the Thanksgiving holiday that so many Americans are celebrating today.

We are thankful for so much! I watch the man in a nice suit trying to get comfortable in his cardboard box and covering up the best he can with his overcoat. I wonder where his family is and what is his story. He looks like any other normal business man walking down the street. I think of all the cozy blankets mom has made us that are stacked floor to ceiling in the store room and wish I could share.

Our meal was quite lack-luster compared to what we are used to having, but we were all together and feeling very thankful.  Oh, who am I kidding, we were disappointed.  The mashed potatoes were lumpy and of bizarre consistency, the beans were blah because we had no salt, the meat was fine and the wine was good but I felt a little grumbly. 

We know it's time to come back home when Raleigh needs the iPad and a Starbucks to get his day started.

Raleigh loves shopping for accessories.

Raleigh learns to shave with a spoon!

Raleigh has an affection towards foriegn girls.  Blowing kisses and
giving hugs. He is adored by young and old.

What is it about a lock that makes one want to get to the other side?

Undercover agent for the Madrid Police

The bricks of a road can look much like a day in our life; they can all look the same from a distance but when each one is noted for its' special character we can appreciate it much more.