For those of you who couldn't tell - Schulanfang (probably roughly) translates to "school" beginning".I just had to show off how stylin' my lil Diva was when she went off to her first day of school last week. You can't tell from the pic but that Tinkerbell backpack is not only spiffy sweet looking but it's glittery too! I'd totally go for one myself if it were like...a messenger bag and I was slightly less self conscious. After a summer filled with vaccination catch ups (did you know Hep A isn't a common vaccine in Germany) and spazzing out over lost birth certificates...oh and wondering if the school had forgotten our entering kindergartener the first day of school was upon us!
Even E got up early for the momentous walk to the bus stop so it was a full party. Ok, not a full party since that would be five members but come on, you guys know what I mean. It was a pretty jovial group - I guess older kids are still excited about school and then there was the lil cutie-pie who goes to the German Kindergarten (preschool) who's always happy and if I recall - even our other resident darling who's started the American preschool along with her still new smelling baby sister. Dear gods...did that last sentence even make sense? No? Oh well, figure it out for yourself - make it up as you go! (: Surprisingly, and I hate to admit it, I found myself choking up when the bus came. One of the hardest things to do was smile happily while taking an all too short hug from my baby before she gleefully hopped up on her bus to go to school. I've never left the Gang of Moms so fast - I didn't want them to see me cry. Thankfully, I didn't cry loudly - I'd never be able to show my face to the neighbourhood again.
Some of you guys may be wondering what happened in regards to my blog posts - or lack therein. I really have had things to say in the over a month time period that's gone by. I have pictures and tales to go with those pictures and in due time they'll come out.
As to what happened to me for the last part of this summer? I guess the big part is that my Vavô, my Grandfather passed away rather suddenly and it's something that's hit me rather hard. I remember how when I was a kid visiting family "up North", I'd get to spend the night and how in the quiet of early morning, he'd go off to work. There was something oddly peaceful about it... Some of my fondest memories come from summers there - of hanging out under an awning of grapevines in the back yard and having him tell me I'd get a tummy ache for eating too green grapes. I'm eternally grateful I at least got to see my family before I left for Germany. The last time I saw my Vavô, one of the last things he talked about was how I used to speak in Portuguese (hard to fathom considering how now I speak a lot of Spanish and my Portuguese is not only bad but with a Brazilian accent) and that he still had tapes of me talking about moving to Alabama, asking why I had to leave him and why couldn't he come with us. We're talking about tapes from back when I was bloody four years old...that makes for something really long kept. Sentimentality of it just breaks my heart. In less than a year I've lost both Vavô and one of my Vavó and didn't go to any funerals. I mean...I realize with the distance, I couldn't go but it doesn't stop me from feeling like a crappy person.
Bridge under the water, I guess...in the end I'm feeling more like posting so I will.
Even E got up early for the momentous walk to the bus stop so it was a full party. Ok, not a full party since that would be five members but come on, you guys know what I mean. It was a pretty jovial group - I guess older kids are still excited about school and then there was the lil cutie-pie who goes to the German Kindergarten (preschool) who's always happy and if I recall - even our other resident darling who's started the American preschool along with her still new smelling baby sister. Dear gods...did that last sentence even make sense? No? Oh well, figure it out for yourself - make it up as you go! (: Surprisingly, and I hate to admit it, I found myself choking up when the bus came. One of the hardest things to do was smile happily while taking an all too short hug from my baby before she gleefully hopped up on her bus to go to school. I've never left the Gang of Moms so fast - I didn't want them to see me cry. Thankfully, I didn't cry loudly - I'd never be able to show my face to the neighbourhood again.
Some of you guys may be wondering what happened in regards to my blog posts - or lack therein. I really have had things to say in the over a month time period that's gone by. I have pictures and tales to go with those pictures and in due time they'll come out.
As to what happened to me for the last part of this summer? I guess the big part is that my Vavô, my Grandfather passed away rather suddenly and it's something that's hit me rather hard. I remember how when I was a kid visiting family "up North", I'd get to spend the night and how in the quiet of early morning, he'd go off to work. There was something oddly peaceful about it... Some of my fondest memories come from summers there - of hanging out under an awning of grapevines in the back yard and having him tell me I'd get a tummy ache for eating too green grapes. I'm eternally grateful I at least got to see my family before I left for Germany. The last time I saw my Vavô, one of the last things he talked about was how I used to speak in Portuguese (hard to fathom considering how now I speak a lot of Spanish and my Portuguese is not only bad but with a Brazilian accent) and that he still had tapes of me talking about moving to Alabama, asking why I had to leave him and why couldn't he come with us. We're talking about tapes from back when I was bloody four years old...that makes for something really long kept. Sentimentality of it just breaks my heart. In less than a year I've lost both Vavô and one of my Vavó and didn't go to any funerals. I mean...I realize with the distance, I couldn't go but it doesn't stop me from feeling like a crappy person.
Bridge under the water, I guess...in the end I'm feeling more like posting so I will.
