and where exactly has january gone?

could someone please tell me-
i thought i knew
i guess i don't...all these days are just rolling into time
racing past my heart and head

waaaay too fast

biggers returned from Model UN yesterday
MORNING
and turns right around to fly back to the states
TOMORROW
for college visits

seriously...i'm in desperate need of "do-over" years
not do-over moments, but actual
years.

pity party over now!
this week was something.
if you get a chance, google
Barbara Coloroso
she's uh-maze-zing.

my school signed the first "anti-bullying" policy between agency and the army after the pilot program in another garrison was completed

Barbara Coloroso had a LOT to do with this, Barbara and the momma friend of mine who has done fabulous things for the agency in her job.

it's a lofty goal to eliminate bullying from a school, but, to eliminate bullying from a
community
it takes commitment, courage, and cahones!
it really does take a village...

google Barbara and you'll see where we are headed-
21st century learning never looked so inspired.

umarmen und lieben
essie

here we are

back again after a rapid fire work week
wow.
was i ever busy...

today it is cold and icky in germany

bleech.

yesterday: a very long and incredibly productive meeting and doodle bug got a fabbo haircut/dye
today: Model UN trip madness before prestie leaves for the Hague and Harry's 50th birthday
tomorrow: laundry, raking, mopping, cooking and driving

dontcha wish my life was yours?!!

here we are...domesticity and mid life living...at it's finest.

umarmen und lieben
essie

home again home again jiggety jig!

long drive home in the very strange snow...snow-ish...wind...wind-ish.

home with a box full of love AND cookies
from florida
clothes-ies from colorado
and random items
from amazon

today on the menu at casa h
the taking down of a beautiful and very short lived
christmas tree

our only tree in morlenbach
the only time we will know the holidays in
this house

down
down
down.

so far, what took hours to find,
put up,
light,
and decorate
has taken a remarkable
93 minutes
to dismantle.

i have a table covered in
ornaments
and three pieces of
christmas tree
waiting on the couch to go into the
10 month box
before they are
ALL
pulled out again for the holidays in
wherever we are about to land...
next

there is something very exciting about
the unknown
the insane anticipation that brought us here
to the Odenwald
has tempered ever so slightly
because in great part
i know
100%
that we can do this...live in another country
miss who and what we love
skype or facetime
translate between no less than three languages on a daily basis
pay bills online...almost with regularity :o)
check the mail
buy groceries us or euro style
walk our dogs

we can live here and we can do it without
"holy hot mess batman" freak outs that were a little too regular this past fall
sometimes we're more spontaneous than other times
sometimes there's more available euro than other times
sometimes what's important ends up being not so much
and in all these times we've learned
we can roll with it
we can deal with it
or
we can simply let it go.

not in anyway
the end of the world
jiggety jig!

umarmen und lieben
essie

doing

i can't say
"done and done"
YET
but today
the first of many many teacher boxes went
into the lounge with a happy sign that said
"FREE to a NEW home"

and, not looking back, taking no prisoners...

it felt really good!

books, lesson plans, activities, learning centers
all of it
sitting in the lounge waiting for new homes
a fresh start
for years of happy teaching
that until this afternoon
had been languishing in the basement

next week: five more boxes
and me, one week closer to a finish line that is really
my beginning

umarmen und lieben
essie

the fine line

hmmm...
what IS the fine line?
WHERE is the fine line?
how have i been missing it for so very long?!

we are safely INto 2012
next week i will have been commuting from
home
to
hohenfels
for twelve complete weeks.

which i can hardly believe
because as i explained to doodlebug
i keep myself as busy at work as i possibly can
to stop from missing
home
so very much

12 weeks have passed and
we're still dealing with boxes from
august
boxes actually from
august 2007
when we first arrived in germany

and so
with the fine line closing in on ME
and in my honest attempt to be
a true role model
this weekend i do the unthinkable...

teacher boxes
full
of the greatest, longest, hardest, most earnest
days of my life
are coming back to hohenfels with me
up
for
grabs.

it's time for me to start accepting the fine line is maybe more
of a finish line

and i have to start somewhere
or we will have august boxes from 2012
in the basement in 2017
and that folks is really where i
must
draw the line.

umarmen und lieben
essie

trying trying!

internet is hard to come by when i'm not at casa h...
my teeny tiny little boarding house room-not exactly the plaza when it comes to modern amenities.

it IS a safe, warm place though, when it's time to sleep after a long day at school.
i'm grateful.

that role model wish for 2012
i'm trying
really i am

sitting here in the java
watching all the high schoolers come and go-
next year will be good for the 2 harrisons who move here
with
lots of room for the harrison getting ready to
spread his wings
and our extra harrison-for the boys to come back to-
next year will be good.

for now though, we're trying
to finish the quarter
to learn new routines
to prepare for indoor soccer
to study for AP exams
to move forward

it's all we can do
role model with a smile

umarmen und lieben
essie

auld lang syne really means...

this year on NYE we actually had all 5 in the car for enough time to share our resolve and get into what we thought 2012 would help us accomplish...
 (not in any order they follow)
 good grades
acceptance into the college of my heart
learn german-not just liquid courage german-really speaking
improve my vocabulary
be a better role model

pretty lofty for casa h!

however everyone had something to say and given that for the past few years there have been
lists
suggestions
attitudes
heartbreak
disaster
joy
unexpected surprise
the absence of silence when we went around the car, i took as, a good sign

 it's funny to me how the change from one year to the next can provide
comfort and expectation
all at once
newness must do that-
re-charge our inner battery just enough for hope to float to the surface
come January 1st.

 shaking bad habits
dusting yourself off when you're down
coming back for more-day in...day out
commitment = the work of life

without hope stashed somewhere in the mix all you have is pressure

 like i said before...no more balls in the air this year no more pressure
2012: you're heeeere, and in my head and in my heart, hope floats
time to get started on that role model stuff.

 umarmen und lieben
essie

let the new year begin

2011 was without question the year of greatest upset and upheaval that i can remember

it's been a very long time coming-waiting for 2012
waiting for the ball to drop
waiting

in 2011 our family spent too much time with balls up in the air-
that kind of pressure, no one needs to live with

in 2012 our family has already many great things to look forward to
moments that will become memories
moments where laughing is the norm
moments where tears come from joy

2012 we're ready, no more waiting.
umarmen und lieben
essie