Happiness

The other day we went to our favorite Chinese restaurant in the ID, Shanghai Garden, and this was in my fortune cookie.

I'm not at all second guessing our decision to go but lately I've been a bit more introspective and wondering how we will all do during our year away. It has been so easy to focus on everything that has to happen before we leave and now, maybe because I'm trying to procrastinate with the packing, I've been a bit less excited and a bit more anxious.  I know a big part of this is that we have not heard back from JFK about Benjamin being accepted.  Nor have we heard back from our second or third choice schools and I am now spending my non-packing time looking at different International School options in Berlin.  We may have to look farther afield.  I hope not but also know that we definitely want them to attend the same school and that neither of them would do well in the local, all German, public school.  For today, I'll focus on my fortune and choose HAPPINESS over anxiety!!

Friends and Family

Lately I've been getting emotional when I think of leaving friends and family.   Not so much for my sake but for the kids.  It isn't that I won't miss my loved ones terribly but I have gone weeks or months and sometimes even years without seeing some of my closest friends and sometimes even family members.  I know we are solid and will keep in touch and it will be just like it was before we left.  I have A LOT of history with most of them.

But I get sad when I think about Josie and Benjamin leaving their best friends.  They both have really incredible friendships with several different people that I know will be hard to replicate in Germany.  Josie and Elliott have been best friends and in the same classroom since Kindergarten.

They have such a cool, independent, honest friendship.  They are like sisters in the very best sense of the term.  I know they will keep in touch but it breaks my heart to know they will be separated for a whole year.
Benjamin also has a best friend, Callum.  They met in preschool and became fast friends.  He really doesn't have another friend quite like Callum and he loves to hang out with him.

After preschool they went their separate ways to elementary school but have kept in touch with play dates mostly on vacations or early release days.  Benjamin, will find friends in Germany but I hope we make it a priority to keep in touch with Callum and his other best buddy, Oliver, while we are away.  It will be harder with the boys because of their age and the fact that they are boys and their time together isn't filled with deep conversations or anything.

Marty and I will miss our parents a ton too.  Because of the radio job he plans to come back to Seattle a couple of times throughout the year so he will see his parents then and my parents are hoping to visit us in Berlin.  So hopefully it won't be a full year until we see them again.

Marty and I will miss our good friends too and hope many of them make their way to Berlin to visit us.   So many photos of friends but here are a few of my recent faves.  Marty has friends too but doesn't often take pictures of them 😉

School and Packing

Well, my "release all things to leave your hands open to receive" theory has not worked... yet.  No word yet on Benjamin being accepted to JFK but we did find out that the school does, in fact, send out rejection letters to students who have not been admitted.  Since we did not receive one of those letters for Benjamin we are trying to remain positive and think that this means there is still a good chance a spot will open up for him.  And, no word from our second choice school (Nelson Mandela - also free, public and bilingual) nor our third choice school (Berlin International - bilingual, IB program, private, costly but very very good)

Packing is at an all time high right now.  I've been sorting, packing, organizing and donating like a mad woman.  I've been stacking the packed boxes that are ready to go in storage in the basement on the fireplace hearth.  It is getting pretty full.  The front porch seems constantly full with donations even though I've been scheduling the donation pick-up truck once a week.  I really want to have the house 90% ready to go by the time the kids are done with school... which gives me precisely 6 days.  Actually more like 4.5 since I have other appointments and things going on next week and signed up to volunteer all day for their "field day"  It will all get done.  It will all get done.  It will all get done...

Release

The stress of getting the kids into school has been weighing on me.  After nearly a week of knowing Josie was accepted to JFK but still not hearing anything about Benjamin I wrote them an email this morning.  The reply was this:
"At this point, we have no spaces available for 2nd grade.  We are fully aware of the sibling relationship, however, if there is no space we are unable to admit even siblings.  You will be notified as soon as this changes and if we are able to offer you a spot for Benjamin"

Gut punch!  But then Marty reminded me that this is their school policy and basically the same thing that they told us about both kids just two weeks ago... but then Josie was accepted. He also reminded me that they didn't necessarily shut us down and our position is the same today as it was yesterday. They "are always full and when there is a space they will let us know" and there just isn't space...yet.

I have been praying and trying to do a lot of positive self talk! We really set up our entire trip and year around the kids getting into this particular school. I keep reminding myself that he is now the VERY top tier of priority for being accepted.  He moves up one notch from just having 2 American parents to also have a sibling that will be attending. Only an American diplomat's child entering the 2nd grade would be accepted before him.

I also reminded myself that even though we are 99.9% certain we are moving to Germany, I had not yet unenrolled our kids from their Seattle Public School.  I was hanging on to those spots for what?  Because it was scary and sad to give up a hard fought spot at an incredible school!  Because I love our school and didn't want it to be so final. Because what if Benjamin doesn't get accepted to JFK?  Then, what?  I would have him attend his local Seattle school, Fairmount Park? No, of course I wouldn't.  So after coming to grips with saying goodbye to a WONDERFUL school, I unenrolled both kids today.  I kind of figured I had to let go in order to receive.   And either way we will be fine.  We have weathered much tougher things and will probably face even tougher things in the future.   So, suck it up.  Things will be fine.  Right?

Paralyzed by the Packing

Packing has never been my strong suit and because of this  I have moved very little in my life by choice.  The last time I moved was when I moved into our current house when we got married 12 years ago.  The last time Marty moved was into our current house just a couple years before me.  When we first moved in our house was very big and relatively empty.  Fast forward 12+ years and two kids later and the house is so far from empty that it isn't funny.   In fact, it is quite full and not only full but full of stuff that we haven't even looked at or thought about in years.  Along with packing (and making lists) purging is also not one of my strengths.  No matter that I haven't used said thing in 3 years, what if I will need it in the future.  So, I keep it.  Over a decade of not being forced to move and my inability to give anything away has left us with a mountain of a job to tackle before our looming July 29th move date.

With our upcoming move I am in full on packing, purging and organizing mode. Again, NONE of these things come naturally to me and quite honestly, I detest all of them.  I've been waking up in the middle of the night and then am awake for hours worrying about how we will get everything packed up in time.  There are boxes all over the house in various stages of being packed and sorted.  It's not pretty over here right now but I just keep telling myself that bit by bit, box by box we will get there... I hope!!

Lists

I'm not much of a list maker.  I actually love lists but always forget to make them.  And I then I end up not doing at least half of things I probably would have if I had made a list in the first place.  It is just not a priority although it probably should be

Now travel lists, they are different story all together.  I could do this kind of list making ALL day.  Marty always makes fun of me for my travel dreaming and planning.  Some people play Candy Crush or solitaire to pass the time.  Or watch TV or ?? I don't know.  There are a lot of things that people do for fun or relaxation.  I choose to dream, plan and make lists of places I want to travel.  This next year is going to be so satisfying with all of the travel and travel planning and travel dreaming.   Only people who REALLY know me will know how happy writing this post makes me!!

Below are our family travel wish lists for our year in Europe.  All of us said "in no particular order" before making our list.  We are not THAT picky:
Benjamin:
Greece (inspired by Percy Jackson)

Italy (to see Mt Vesuvius)

Egypt (to see the pyramids)

Ukraine (he has no idea why)

Josie:
Sweden (to go to the Ice Hotel)

France (to see the Eiffel Tower - again)

Italy (she was only 6 months old the first time she went so obviously doesn't remember much!)

Greece

Marty:
St. Petersburg, Russia

Train trip to Warsaw, Poland

The Baltic Nations (Estonia, Lithuania)

Croatia

Portugal

Karrie:
Portugal

Greece

Ireland

Sweden

Turkey

Revisit:
Italy

Croatia

Spain

Slovenia

One In and One to Go!

We FINALLY got word back from JFK that Josie was accepted into the 5th grade for next year.  YAY!!  Such a relief... well, partial relief.  We did not get anything regarding Benjamin.  We are trying to make ourselves feel better by wondering if maybe they are just going grade by grade and haven't gotten to the 2nd grade yet?  We feel that, hopefully, it is better to not get any word than to hear he is on the waiting list.  I have read that once one of your children have been accepted that the odds for your second child getting in go way up.  We are sure hoping this is true.
We can't figure out what factors they use for acceptance.   We do know that because they have a mandate that 40% of their student population be American that we are one of the top priorities to get in and that the order in which applications are received is not a determining fact but what is?  I can't imagine that Benjamin not being accepted (yet) was based on any of his merits compared to Josie's.  He (and all of the other incoming 2nd graders) only have a kindergarten report card and just a half of 1st grade report card to submit.  So, it truly must just be space available.

In no way do I want to take anything away from Josie being the INCREDIBLE student/child/daughter that she is.  And really she is quite remarkable and often doesn't get enough credit.   She is in an advanced program at school and currently doing reading, writing and math two grade levels ahead.  She has one of the biggest hearts of anyone I know and is funny and fun and loving.  So... yeah, she has a lot of amazing character traits but there is no way JFK would know that from her application.  But, they will soon find out!  We are so SO proud of her and  in reading her acceptance letter to JFK, Marty and I both got a little emotional.  Our little girl is growing up!!  She is a great friend and is surrounded by great friends.  She is tenacious and unshakable when she sets her mind to something.  

She loves art, and riding her bike and reading.  She is adventurous and spunky.  She loves little kids and thinks she might want to be a teacher someday.   So, today we celebrate! We celebrate having such an amazing (not so little anymore) girl in our lives.  What a gem!

We are half way there!!  Deep breaths until both kids are accepted.