My Bags are Packed

All of our bags are packed, and it’s time to go to Germany.  The Tire House and hangar that we’ve been calling home feel cold and lonely without all of our books and clothes.  We’ve eaten almost all the food and given away things like dry beans that we could not finish.  Now is when I am supposed to be really excited to head back to our apartment that has been so patiently waiting for us, right?

And I am.

Yet there are so many things I’m going to miss.  Many of you can probably relate with moves you have made in life, too.

rainbow in the country

I’m going to miss the country air that makes me feel so alive.

I’m going to miss the deer and eagles and hawks.  (The weirdest birds I’ve ever seen are these ones in Berlin.)

end of summer lake

I’m going to miss talking to my mom any day of the week.  Because of the time difference, we can only talk on weekends when I’m in Germany due to clashing sleep/work schedules Monday through Friday.

I’m going to miss hearing old pilot stories and smelling the oily flavor of airplanes and hangars.

hangar house

I’m going to miss my family… well except the relatives who just moved to Berlin.

I’m going to miss the conversations with friendly English speaking clerks when I’m buying taco shells, then driving home on empty roads.

empty highway

I’m going to miss having reading materials.  You don’t even notice how much you turn to cereal boxes and magazines for reading… until they’re not available in excess quantities in the language you read.

I’m going to miss the sound of nothing but crickets, wind, and animals running on our roof all night.

deer-in-the-window

I’m going to miss sunscreen.

canyonlands aerial3

I’m going to miss flying and miss knowing exactly what people are saying to me because I can speak their language.

katie solo

Yes, I’ll miss so very much. Part of the challenge of making any place home has to be missing things from the place you once were. My love of my family grows each time we get together, and I know that if we were always together, the little moments like eating ice cream late at night or playing board games just wouldn’t be as fabulous in my mind.

The key is choosing happiness wherever you are.  You can choose to be sad and long for the place you once were.  For expats, it’s especially easy to embrace all the good from where you just came from and completely miss all the great things where you are.  But the only way to truly love where you are going and embrace it is to get involved in your new world.

I think you have to get brave and step out of your comfort zone.  While I’m still blue about all the things I’ll miss from the Rocky Mountains, I know there is so much to look forward to in Berlin.  And maybe if I had written this post ten minutes later, I’d be feeling the complete opposite, rambling on and on about what a thrill expat life can be.

A lot of people have asked what the first things Martin and I want to do when we get back to Germany will be.  He’ll be swinging by our neighborhood bakery for fresh croissants, and I’ll be walking to the park near our house.  It’s such a peaceful place, like my own piece of countryside in the middle of the city.  There will birds and families scattered about in all the corners.  There will be no nude sunbathers this time of year, which is always a shock to discover fresh from America!  Who knows – maybe we will do these things together and eat our croissants in the park by the roses… with our clothes on!

Goodbye America.

I’ll see all of you from the other side of the pond!