Six Month Anniversary

As we approach the six-month anniversary of our leaving Luxembourg, it seems like a good time to reflect, once again, on what we've learned and how we can improve.

Many of the things I had read *before* we went to Luxembourg said that to help the kids transition back to the States, we needed to keep reminding them that we were Americans and not Europeans. Studies of kids whose parents move overseas for jobs (outside of the U.S. military) show that those who want the kids to do everything to "fit in" with the new culture produce kids that have trouble adjusting to the new culture, the U.S. culture if they move back to the U.S., and often an aversion to moving overseas as adults. This was especially true for children of missionaries.

One of my former boss's main criticism of how my husband and I had handled things was that we had created an "American island" for our girls, so of course, they could never be happy. When I look back at our year in Luxembourg, I don't see how we could have done anything else. The government schools in Luxembourg didn't want my children. Language schools in Luxembourg don't teach children (that's what the government schools were for). I didn't make enough money to send them to a private school. All that was left was our American island.

In the end, it turned out for the best. We didn't stay long in Luxembourg, and the transition back to the States was fairly easy. I'm not sure, in the long run, that the transition to Tennessee was that much worse than if we had moved here straight from Northern Virginia. The kids and I miss our friends and our church. There is a learning curve to being poor---no more eating out, no more big presents for birthdays and Christmas. But that would be true whether or not we had been to Luxembourg.

Darin and I had wanted to leave Northern Virginia for some time, but I don't think we would have ever done it if I hadn't been offered the "perfect" job in Luxembourg. Moving to Luxembourg got us out of our very comfortable life with our very comfortable salary in Northern Virginia. Darin and I had been longing for peace, quiet, and the ability to see the stars at night. Now we have all those things. We may have less spending money, but we have a great farm, wildlife and stars to watch, less stress, and that quiet we wanted.

What are we missing? Mostly health insurance. Would it be better to be in Luxembourg with their socialized medicine? No way. Even when we were in Luxembourg, we never understood the system enough to get dentist appointments, or check-ups, or things like mamograms, etc. I'm 42 years old, and I've never had a mamogram, and it's been close to three years since my last test for cervical cancer. The kids need dentist appointments, and braces. But could we get those things if we were in Luxembourg? It would probably have been possible, but we didn't have anyone to show us how.

What would be different in our lives if we had moved straight from the DC area to Tennessee? For one, I would never have learned any French. I really enjoyed that part of living abroad. But on the flip side, the kids learned some French and now refuse to ever speak it. There is a deeper hatred for all things French that is usual for an American, especially in my middle child. We have a deeper appreciation for America. We hear people talk about the problems here, like "lack of affordable health care" and immigration, and those problems seem so small compared to what they are facing in Europe. There is talk of how this country is so deeply divided, and how the gap is widening, but we still solve things peacefully, for the most part. This is not the case in Europe, especially in France. I suppose that maybe I wouldn't have a plate in my leg if we hadn't lived in Luxembourg, but I'm adjusting to that also.

My prayers now for my family are for an easing of the anger against Europe, for new friends in Tennessee, and a job for Darin that will give us health insurance. A year after we have insurance, I can get the plate out of my leg. Maybe by then I can convince the kids to speak French again, and we can live our lives with our wonderful appreciation for this country, and none of the negative side-effects from living in Luxembourg.

Here's to the next six months.

A Hearty Good Morning to Ye!

Yes, I know that time just be flyin' by, but it is again one of our family's favorite made-up holidays --- Talk Like a Pirate Day!

(If you've never celebrated the day before, I encourage ye to try it today. It's a wonderful way to make life a bit less stressful.)

The crew here in Tennessee has been under the weather, so the emailin' and bloggin' has been on the light side o' things, but I shall try to remedy that today.

Bon sang! Though me pirate talkin' skills are still sharp for English, I be havin' some trouble rememberin' how to talk like a French pirate. I may have to sneak downstairs this afternoon to watch me pirate movie in French to recall the old phrases. If you be wantin' to review your French pirate, please see last year's blog entry.

I wish ye all the best on this fair holiday. Godspeed to ye, and always a strong wind!
From Mad Matilda, and the rest o' Cap'n Pete's crew: Pegleg, Abby, and Jane.

September's Beautiful Picture from the U.S.A.

At the beginning of September, we took a field trip to some civil war battle sites in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. This picture was taken at Antietam National Battlefield, on what is now called Patriot's day, September 11.