All over (again)

We're home. We're done. We made it.

We are no longer American expats living in Germany. Our adventure is complete.

And what an adventure it was!

It's hard to summarize my thoughts about our time there, especially since we've only been home for a little over two months, but I think I can give some key takeaways:

1) It was TOTALLY amazing. I already miss the history in Europe. I miss going into Wiesbaden on my 12 minute train ride and seeing the Marktkirche, or taking a very easy, 45-minute train ride into Frankfurt followed by a pleasant walk to Romer plaza.  I knew I would miss those.  As of today, I am not pining for them. I don't long to return to them, yet. But I suspect that someday I will be reviewing my ~7,500 pictures, and I will want to return.

2) Life happened. I guess that's the thing about being an expat that you really can't avoid. Sure, when we found out we were going there, I couldn't wait to visit so many different countries and cities that I never thought I would visit in my life. I did that! But I also didn't visit QUITE as many countries and cities as I thought I would have, because of work, sickness, grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, travel for work, and just being tired in general without having our support network. In retrospect, it is not disappointing at all. It's just kind of silly that I didn't see it that way to begin with before we left.

3) I'd do it all over again! And in fact, David even mentioned that perhaps in the distant future I could start looking for a job in Japan. Japan! Some alien stole my husband from me and I'm living with a doppelganger, I think. But seriously, Japan could be a real opportunity, many years down the road, that is. I will have to start learning Japanese. And how does one do that so far from a big city? On-line Japanese learning sounds like a disaster to me!

4) Our support network is AWESOME! I will tell you for sure that being without our support network has made me even more appreciative of it. My people are incredible. Life is so much easier back here where people can help me out and I can vent (or spew!) to my girlfriends in person. Thank God for my friends and family!

5) The U.S. is so, extremely blessed. It is a place where life is convenient. Space is abundant. Fresh air, too. Even stars! And friendly people, with real smiles. Dentists are gentle and understanding! Is everything better here? Maybe not. We don't recycle as well, and healthy food is much more expensive. But overall, life here is really, really good.

Ahhhh, yes. The good old U.S. of A.

SO happy to be back.