This week, I met a man at the grocery store who thought The North Face logo on my coat was a mormon missionary name tag. He asked me if I was mormon. Then he told me a dirty joke. Then he asked me if I was American. And then he spent the next 25 minutes telling me how wonderful the National Parks are in the state of Utah. Then he asked me if I was married. Then he told me killing Ben wouldn't be a problem but the three children were a deal breaker. And THEN he told me that his name was Andrew, son of Joseph and that if I could find him again, the mormon missionaries could teach him more about my religion.
Then his cousin walked by and tried to pull him away from me while telling me that their fathers were in a concentration camp together in Germany during World War II.
And then I bought a lot of Easter candy. And the most incredible fresh fruits and vegetables.
Thank you, Luxembourg.
Things I want to remember about the past month in Luxembourg:
Going swimming at the Syrdall Schwemm pool in Niederanven.
Ben taking Otto to La Belle Etoile for new school slippers and returning with red crocs.
Going to dinner at Happ with Ashley, Lori, and Madi.
Bringing bikes inside and letting the boys ride the around the main floor.
Bringing Otto a treat whenever I picked him up from school.
Snow -- driving in the snow, Otto and Ben shoveling snow and covering our sidewalks and driveway with snow melt, watching the snow fall from our bedroom window, and Ben and Otto building a snowman in the yard.
Aksel asking me to help him write letters, specifically w, x, y, and z.
Aksel taking an interest in counting, especially with fingers.
Celebrating Ingrid's first birthday. Ben made his mom's homemade chocolate cinnamon cake, Otto picked out a doll for her from Cactus, and we celebrated at the Packer's after dinner. She could tell we were singing for her.
Weaning Ingrid.
Tracey Oliver coming over to hang out.
Watching The Mentalist.
Otto going to Sunbeams at Church.
Aksel finally stopped crying when we took him to nursery.
Otto's teachers excited to see me during pick-up one afternoon. They had taken a video of Otto actually playing and engaging with other children at school. We were all so happy!
Saying goodbye to Ashley Mosher, who moved to Seattle.
Playing the piano during Sacrament meeting at church.
Otto calling Ingrid his tiny Ingrid.
Calling an OBGYN to get an appointment and being told the doctor wasn't seeing new patients until 2017, but a new doctor in the office could see me in 30 minutes.
Once at the doctor's office, the receptionist motioned for me to use the restroom (I could only assume for a urine sample, especially because there was a large stack of plastic cups and paper towels on a table in the bathroom). I brought out my urine sample (as I did EVERY time I went to an appointment in the United States of America), and everyone FREAKING OUT.
Otto sleep walking.
Sunday dinners with the Packers.
Saying goodbye to Mumu Tahi, who moved back to Tahiti.
Convincing Ben to be my translator during Fast and Testimony meeting one Sunday. As I finished, he leaned into the microphone and said, that counts for me too. Classic.
Making and eating lots of cookies/dough and getting salmonella poisoning.
Making homemade clam chowder with frozen clams.
Feeding the missionaries.
Texting with Elise.
Aksel pooping in the bathtub.
Aksel hugging Otto from behind and wrestling him to the ground.
Ingrid playing with the magnets on the fridge.
Ingrid begging for cookie dough.
Carlos and Michelle Rodriguez walking though the snow to deliver Yudri's homemade Rice Pudding.
Aksel playing with Russian dolls.
Dinner with Becky and Star at Notaro.
Ingrid signing for milk/anything by using the milk sign.
Aksel licking his bottom lip until it is raw and red.
Aksel not wanting to hold hands as we cross the street.
Ben's feet ripping a hole in our sheets.
Everyone getting fevers.
Aksel singing the Wheels on the Bus at the top of his lungs from his bed.
Ingrid kissing her baby, holding her baby, carrying her baby around and squealing if anyone touches her baby doll.
Anniversary dinner from New Delhi, Rittersport dessert, and watching The Mentalist.
Our kids never wanting to leave the house and feeling really panicky when we do.
Getting rolls at Smatch.
Going to the Dent Creuse on Sunday afternoon -- the original birthplace of the city of Luxembourg and the only remaining trace of the fort built by Count Siegfried of Lorraine in 965 AD.
Ben giving a talk in Church about apostasy and the need to follow the handbook.
Otto wearing a viking hat all of the time.
Dinner with Darrell and Lori at Um Dierfgen -- a traditional Luxembourgish restaurant and dessert at Place Guillame II.
Tram Museum with Becky and her kids.
Going to Zig Zag with Oliver Mosher one last time.
Madi coming over after school one afternoon to help and bringing cookies and éclairs from the Gasperich bakery.
Saturday morning bakery trip for cookies, quiche, pain au chocolate and more éclairs.
Ben coming home from work early one Friday and picking Otto up from school. Maybe Otto's favorite day, yet.
Rearranging chores: reassigning unloading the silverware to Aksel and giving Otto taking out the trash.
Otto and Aksel playing with the wands from Liichtmëssdag.
Ingrid wanting me to put hand sanitizer on her hands all the time.
Raclette with the missionaries.
Otto and I eating chocolate on the way to school in the afternoon.
Ben making the missionaries give the elder's quorum lesson.
Playing with playdough at the Packers.
Ingrid learning to walk.
Introducing the boys to Nutella.
Ingrid sleeping through the night.
Ingrid squawking at the sight of cookies or chocolate chips until we put one in her mouth.
Otto and Ingrid playing happily in the car.
Otto playing with Ralphie at school.
Going to the aquarium and park next door.
Aksel throwing up as we were walking out the door on a Valentine's Day date. Getting Indian takeout instead.
Ben getting me a gift from Villeroy & Bosch.
Otto celebrating Carnival at school and wearing his monkey suit to a party one Friday afternoon.
Half term break.
Bennett's birthday party. Otto wrapped his gift, carefully wrote his name, and taped fruit snacks to the top.
Zig zag with Packers.
Ben shaved his beard.
Taking the kids to the Vitarium with Madi.
I feel like I've turned a corner. I now have a long list of things I'd truly miss about Luxembourg and a long list of things I still want to do and quiches I want to try.
There's great satisfaction in the simplicity of our life right now. We walk most places. We eat fresh food and chocolate. And we don't do much besides taking care of our children, reading books, watching Luxembourg Netflix, and figuring out what restaurant we will try next.
There's a lot of things we gave up and said goodbye to in exchange for this experience. Before coming here, I didn't realize how much time and mental capacity I spent on things that didn't matter. Luxembourg quickly (and painfully) rearranged my priorities and my perspective for me.
Becoming who you want to be is a demanding and relentless task. It's one I give up on some days and one I dominate on other days. But it's one I will keep trying for.
Thank you, Luxembourg.
