20 Months

Two life-changing things happened this past month. 

The first: Aksel learned how to ride a bike. 

He's a new man. He's constantly beaming with pride, announcing his new skill to strangers, and riding circles around the playground shouting "Look at me!" to anyone who will listen. 


The boys ride their bikes to school and twist their heads around to yell, "Mom! Run please!" 

They love to ride their bikes fast and they love to make sure I'm running next to them. We usually have one major crash a day and one major melt down about who is faster than whom, but for the most part, we are dominating the bike situation in Luxembourg and loving it. 

The second: We found out PwC will be moving our family to Denver, Colorado this Spring. 

Ben's a new man. He's constantly beaming with happiness, announcing our news to strangers and running in circles around our house shouting "I'm moving to Denver!" to anyone who will listen. 

Not really. But he's pretty pumped. We all are. 

Except sometimes I'm heartbroken. When I think about the reality of another move, another adjustment, another school, another church, and another goodbye to best friends, then I cry. 

I want to move back to the states. I want to live in America. I just don't want Luxembourg to end. I don't want to say goodbye to this adventure. I don't want to watch the foreign language my kids have acquired slip away, never to return. I don't want to say goodbye to French bakeries. I don't want to say goodbye to girls trips to Paris. I don't want to say goodbye to hearing Ben speak French. I don't want to say goodbye to the women who also craved an adventure and made my life complete in Luxembourg. 

There are still more trips to take. There are still more early-morning conversations to have while running with Megan and Martha. There are still more lessons to learn. There are still more Belgian chocolate chips to eat. And they all exist within the bubble of Luxembourg. I don't want the bubble to burst, but I'm so so glad it's being burst by the Rocky Mountains and Denver. 

I was having a conversation with a German woman who will rent our house here in Luxembourg once we leave. She's married to an American (and a Paul Ryan look-a-like). She asked if I was stressed about moving. 

My response: No. Not really. I can speak English and I know how to do everything where we are going. 

Her response: Oh! You're going to be so bored. How sad. 

My internal response: Holy crap. She's right. Why did she say that? Germans!

My verbal response: Oh, maybe. 

And when she left, I panicked. 

Am I going to be bored? Am I going to be sad? Of course I am. But I'm also going to be so many other wonderful things. And I'm married to Ben. I give him six months, tops, before he's jonesing for another trip overseas. 

There's plenty more adventures ahead, and that makes closing this adventure a tiny bit easier. 

Other things I want to remember about the past month: 

Ben going to Stuttgart, Germany on his guys trip.

Driving Megan's van home one night, and Aksel and Otto arguing about who got to sit in Josh’s booster seat for 10 minutes. They thought sitting in someone else’s car seats and van was a true novelty.

Eating Sunday dinner at the Wares. Adam made spaghetti carbonara. It was insane. Insane! It was so good. I brought banana cream pie. That was also insane.

Wandering around Provençale with Megan and our babies. 

Ben working really really late all month. 

Running with Megan and Martha. 

Becky taking portraits of Otto, Aksel, and Ingrid and then inviting us to stay for her homemade pizza. All of Otto's dreams came true. He loves the Packers and he loves Becky's pizza.

Riding the bus downtown with Ingrid and meeting up with friends to shop at the market in Place Guillaume, wander our way through H&M, and then stop at Ben & Pepper before catching the bus home. 

Catching up with Lori White on the phone. 

Doing puzzles with Ingrid. 

Becky’s baby shower at Comme à la Maison with Megan, Justine, Nolwenn, and Martha. The food was amazing and the atmosphere was incredible. The italian restaurant sits inside a furniture and home decor store. 

Otto having a “late night” with his friend Elias. I dropped him off at Elias’ home at 5:30 pm with a water bottle and a bag of popped popcorn and picked him up at 9. He was in the best mood. He was so happy! He and Elias gave each other the biggest and strongest high five I’ve ever seen two four-year-old boys give one another. I almost died of cuteness. The first thing he asked me when we got in the car was: Do Aksel and Ingrid get to stay up as late as I do? Do they have to be four years old?

Having a police inspector stop by to take my DNA as part of the ongoing investigation in our home robbery and car theft last August. 

Otto and I loving gouda cheese blocks from Colruyt. 

Buying pre-dyed and pre-hard boiled Easter Eggs. 

Meeting the Packers at the Jardin de Circulation at noon for a bike ride and a picnic one Saturday. Aksel and Ingrid rode around on Ingrid's bike together for most of the time. It was hilarious. 

Spending the rest of the afternoon making and eating taco soup, playing games, taking baths and trying to convince Aksel to put his ward medication on his feet.

Ben indexing 500 names on Family Search. 

Ben and I eating chocolate chips from the bag and watching Friends episodes on Netflix.

Ben driving to Nancy, France with Carlos to attend the Nancy ward conference.

Ingrid talking a lot more and expressing a lot more. One day she surprised us all by saying: Otto is in timeout for making bad choices. She was correct. 

Shopping at the Villeroy & Boch outlet with Megan and Martha one morning. 

Meeting the Wares and the Mackays at ZigZag one afternoon. 

Going ice skating as a family at Kockelscheuer one Saturday morning. We were also able to see a curling competition. Otto is getting better and more confident on the ice. Aksel kept asking where the red ice skates were (that he used at Place Guillaume on Christmas Eve) and we didn’t even bother renting shoes for Ingrid. 

Hosting a birthday brunch for Martha one morning. We had dessert crêpes. I'm still thinking about them. 

Buying vanilla eclairs and donuts from the bakery. 

When I was putting Otto to bed one night, he was rolling around on his bed putting on his pajamas and singing aloud, "Hey, sexy lady!" It really made me crack up, so I asked him about it:

Me: Otto, that’s a really funny thing to say. Where did you hear that?

Otto: Elias.

Me: That’s pretty funny because Elias doesn’t speak English.

Otto: Elias said we should say it to girls at school who are acting funny.

Otto had a field trip to a farm all day with his class, so he didn’t come home midday for lunch. It was sad. And magical. 

Ingrid and I took the bus to the Gare one morning to meet up with friends and shop at Hema (closest thing to Target here) and Ben & Pepper. My souvenir shopping is complete. 

Going to the Jardin de Circulation one Tuesday afternoon with all our friends.

Ben traveling to Frankfurt and Dublin. 

Aksel coloring pictures at school and putting them in his backpack to bring home. He is always so proud of his colored paper and loves to collect them in his backpack and show me.

A man/dad that I’ve seen every day at school pick up for 18 months spoke to me in English one day. I was shocked. I had no idea. All I could mumble was: You speak English!!

His reply: I speak a little bit of English like most Luxembourgers. 

Hilarious. He was really concerned that I was taking care of six children (my three, Otto's friend and two neighbor girls). 

He was super skeptical that I would be able to handle it. Although I almost left the playground without Aksel and I accidentally smashed Elias’ leg between the stroller and the fence, I totally handled it. 

Making crêpes with bananas and chocolate for Otto and Elias for dinner. They were so happy. 

Waking up to hear Otto singing "Hey Sexy Lady" from his bed in the middle of the night when he was up with a fever. 

Meeting Megan at La Belle Etoile one morning and shopping together for a few hours.

Otto coming home from school and saying: I saw a girl dentist today at school. We went to the big building where the big kids go to school. She looked in my mouth and said I didn't have any holes. 

Ben teaching himself how to tie a bow tie. 

Running around Parc de Merl with Ingrid, Vivian, and Megan. 

Aksel’s teachers excitedly telling me how well he's speaking Luxembourgish now. 

Making St. Patrick’s Day clover cookies to surprise to my kids. The boys loved them. Especially Otto. He went bonkers over them. 

Playing at the Farm Park in the afternoon with the Packers and the Wares and watching Otto, Bennett, Ryan, and Noah getting a soccer game going in the field. 

Hanging out with my neighbor, Anandi, and doing a puzzle for a few hours one Friday night while Ben worked late. She's Luxembourgish. She said several things that cracked me up about America and Americans:

1. She's very bored on our highways and freeways because they are so straight. Any time there is a tiny bed in the road, she cheers with excitement. 
2. She doesn't understand our air conditioning and how we can stand to have everything so cold. 
3. She doesn't understand our cold drinks or putting ice into a drink. She thinks its ridiculous and unhealthy. 
4. She loves Netflix. She LOVES the series Suits and Friends. 
5. She doesn't understand American's fascination with Paris. 

Except for number four, I can't believe we are friends. 

I felt so happy one sunny day walking home with my kids and watching both Otto and Aksel ride a bicycle by themselves home from school. 

It felt phenomenal. 

They were so happy and confident, and I realized that I helped give them those feelings. I taught them both how to ride a bike in Luxembourg. I love the life we have here. I feel so sad that it’s coming to an end. It was so hard to come here and adjust to life here without air conditioning or cold drinks and limited Netflix. 

And now life in Luxembourg is bursting with friends and belonging at school, and neighbors who want to hang out, and two children who can speak Luxembourgish, and the list goes on. 

When the time comes to leave, I'll pretend I'm ready. Until then, I'm going to keep eating as many Callebaut chocolate chips as I can.