Change...

This morning I got up and got a cup coffee but almost all of my mugs were dirty, only about three clean ones in the back of the cupboard. I used one that I bought right after I arrived in Stuttgart and it got me to thinking about how much has changed already.

The coffee mug reminded me of the dungy hotel room we lived in for a month after we got here. The room smelled funky when the coffee pot was on, like old grease. I used to quietly get out of bed, get some coffee and turn on the news real low so as not to wake Sam. I may have preferred to watch something else but the only English channels were CNN.

I was so sad, lonely and lost when I got here. I was depressed that I was in the land of Riesling without my friend. I was sad about a stupid boy and scared about what I was going to do about daycare in a place where I didn't know anybody. I was afraid of how all the changes would affect Sam, he was even sadder without his friends. It broke my heart to hear him talk about what Bayardo and Michael did that day when he hadn't seen them in weeks. Lt Col Turner was right though, kids are more resilient than we give them credit for.

I'm just glad it has all passed. Now we have a place that feels like home and Zephyr who has been a Godsend. I will miss her when she's gone, she's funny and has some good stories... I know I'll miss having someone to talk to at the end of the day, too. Her future is completely open and I'm curious what she'll be doing in 10 years. We'll see.