Signs of Spring

As we were walking Benjamin and his good friend and brother home from school we noticed the crocus coming up.  They were few and far between but they were a nice, colorful sign that Spring is, in fact, coming!

I have to say, it is strange given that Berlin is a bit colder than Seattle but I haven't LOONNGGED for Spring here the way I long for it at home.  Perhaps that is just because everything is new here still in the sense that we haven't lived through a full year and four full seasons.  So maybe it is still just the newness of it all or maybe it is that I know our year here is coming to an end and with each passing day our year here getting closer to ending

and I honestly don't feel ready to leave.  Even in 4 or 5 months I just don't think I will be ready.  So I'm relishing in the present in ways I haven't really before.  Even the present which consist of cold, wet, dark winters of Berlin.  But even in the winter, life is still really pretty good here for us.  The balance we have found here is unique and better.  The quantity and quality of family time here are both much greater than when we were in Seattle.  And I guess the key will be how to take what we have learned here and carry it with us whether we are here in Berlin or back in Seattle.
But for today, I'm thankful for the signs of Spring and hopes of brighter, longer and warmer days on the horizon.