Adjusting

I feel like a game piece from the word game Boggle. After the gamestarting shake, I am not quite in the starting position. I feel a little more sideways than normal, but improve everyday.

My first impression of Brunssum is that it is beautiful. It is small enough that I can find my way around, but big enough that there are some nice stores. (There is a particularly a nice department store that has wooden children's toys. I could get in some trouble).

Here are the few things I have learned in the week we left sunny San Diego for Brunssum:

1.Pack cold and allergy medicine in a carry on. Marc and I got colds on the flight and were miserable. The pets and Tory did great the entire time.

2.Jet lag is hard alone and more challenging with a seven month old. We broke the night into two shifts. I tried to rest while Marc tended to our little world traveler and vice versa. We still don't have the routine together. Tory stays asleep about 30 minutes longer each night and I fall asleep about 15 minutes earlier each night.

3.It is hard to beat a European breakfast. Every morning, our hotel serves fresh bread, bacon and some of the best scrambled eggs I have ever eaten.

4.Spring has not yet arrived. It snowed about 6 inches in the last two days. Thankfully we all have jackets and some warm things.

5.We still love Europe. The people are so friendly. It is nice being somewhere we blend in after our time in Korea. People are very surprised when Marc and I respond to Dutch questions in English. We are excited to start exploring the area.

Besides learning the above items, we have been busy inprocessing, finding a house and entertaining Tory. It is nice to be here rather than thinking about the impending move, hopefully in a few days I will find my travel legs and feel right side up again.

On the eve of leaving

The bags are packed. The baby is asleep. The ridiculously early wake up call is set. Netherlands, here we come!

I have just enough time to reflect, toss and turn and then we will be on our way at 3:45 AM! I can't believe we did it. We sorted and supervised three shipments, moved two cars, visited both families, found a home for our cat, got health certificates for our remaining two pets, survived baby's third tooth and did a little site seeing in San Diego before heading out.

I thought moving would get easier the more we did it. Although this is our second international move in the last three years, i feel just as much in awe of the labor a move of this magnitude requires. I keep waiting for all the emotions of moving internationally to hit me in a wave of excitement, nervousness and sadness for leaving our friends and family. All that I feel right now, is an inkling that I forgot something (where is the baby's saline solution) and a slight worry of how the baby is going to do on the long flight.

I think I am waiting for the moment in the airplane when the captain tells us we are about to land in Brussels to realize the adventure we are embarking on. For now, I will listen to Tory's and Marc's breathing and try to get some rest.