After several more days spent enjoying Germany with our friends both old and new, we head back to Seattle. Four movies and a short nap later, we arrive.
There is a noticeable deflation that happens when I return from any trip, kind of like a Super Bowl pre-game football! Part of the ritual of beating those blahs always involves a motorbike ride for me.  I head out on Sven – my trusted old 2009 BMW GS1200 – to try to gain a little perspective…
Seattle is definitely a beautiful place. There is magic around many turns of the road, just like Saxony. The difference is, I know what magic lies around each corner in Seattle. And although it is breathtaking and glorious, it is the known.
Saxony is the magic yet to be revealed – or perhaps more accurately, only partially revealed at this point. I like change. I like to be challenged. I like to learn and I love to teach my children through experiences. Alden once said that he wants to go to Europe because he wants to learn by “putting his feet on it” not by reading about it in a book.
I can’t shake the feeling that I have one foot firmly planted in Seattle and one in Germany. At times, either place feels like home, but I am drawn to the NEW. I am ready for a challenge and I am ready to take the next steps toward making that happen.
My children were 2 and 5 when I became a single Mother. Keeping things simple and limiting change was my goal at that point of my life. The kid’s needs came first and my own needs fell very far behind.  The kids still come first, but I can easily balance all of our needs now, given they are older and more self-sufficient. All studies show that the timing is perfect for them to maximize the benefit of living abroad, so I make the decision to plunge ahead.
As the country song says, “the road may be rocky, the ride may be rough, it might drive you crazy, you might think you’ve had enough – hold on tight, let it roll right off of you, you should know I’ll never do you no harm….cause I’ve got a real deep feeling.”
I decide to do what I think is right for the kids…and for me.