Here I am starting a new blog and very excited about it–can’t wait to share the joys,  surprises, and oddities of our life abroad. I’m excited, but I’m up to my earlobes in moving papers and moving boxes for the next two months, so it occurs to me that I’ve stepped up to the microphone too soon.

Ta-Da! Here’s my blog on living abroad. Only, oops, I’m not abroad yet. I’m still packing. So… Yeh… What to talk about now. . .

Well, for starters, the “place” I am right now isn’t Alabama or Germany.  It’s some strange no man’s land that you find yourself suddenly inhabiting when you’re knee deep in an overseas move.  My feet are still on Dixie soil, but my mind is racing manically, and exhaustingly,  between Deutschland and Bama.  Even when I take a moment to calm it and just focus on something relaxing, I find myself conflicted:  I start to daydream about how fabulous the Christmas Markets will be in Germany (Gluhwein, and chocolates, and snow…oh my!)  and find myself suddenly jumping up for my car keys, shouting, “I’ll be back, I just need to run to Macy’s and see if winter coats are on sale!”

Note to self: mantra of the week = be still and breathe.  No doubt, it will be a cyclical pattern: be still and breathe; run out and buy coats; be still and breathe; pack up items for storage; be still and breathe; run out and buy snow boots; be…you get the picture.

And I’ll revisit the blog in between, maybe reminisce about our last trip to Germany.  We’ve been there as travelers a few times.  In fact, my daughter was born in Heidelberg 14 years ago.  We weren’t living there at the time, we were living on the Turkish Mediterranean, but our local hospital had a few issues, so we opted to spend the Christmas season with family in Germany and have her there…but I’ll go into that story some other day.  Right now, I have to run off and buy coats.