I seemed to have the song from "The Grinch who stole Christmas" stuck in my head the past two weeks......
“Where are you Christmas
Why can't I find you “
Why can't I find you “
Not
only Christmas, but also my sense of humor seems to have gotten lost. I have so many things in life to be
thankful for and therefore work really hard not to whine about the small stuff that
pops up. But the small stuff seems
to be winning in my house this past month. I have to admit that at times, living in another country
can feel like running into a brick wall on a daily basis. I feel it especially now that it is Christmas…Not only do I
miss my friends/family, the kids have spent more time at home than school due
to sickness, I have visited more doctor’s and school nurse’s offices than
Christmas markets and I miss my husband who has been out of the country more often
than home. (do I dare mention how
long it took me to make Christmas cards on a German website?)
WHINING DONE and I don’t feel any
better…so why spend my energy whining?
Funny,
that I was humming this Christmas song when the doorbell buzzed this week. I just knew it was Christmas ringing when
I saw that box labeled ‘US Priority Mail’ waving from the DHL man’s arms. I was less excited when he started
speaking very fast German and wasn’t handing over my US package. However, he did hand over official looking
piece of paper, and I finally got the message;not only did my Mother-in-Law pay
an outrageous amount to ship this little box of gifts, but according to the
German government I had to pay Zollanmeldung (customs declaration) of about 16
Euros (20 dollars). The next day I
was on the phone with another relative asking, “how do we handle Christmas
presents since there don’t’ seem to be many options?” We have also discovered this week that
Amazon.com gift cards are non-transferable to Amazon.de.
Today
it dawned on me…It is not about the “green stuff” or presents; I am sure
Customs and all that official hoopla is important in the big ole world of
governments. IT IS about staying
in touch with friends and family because emails and pictures don’t cost a
thing.
I am determined to get the kids well,
hit some Christmas markets before they close, buy a tree, and pack up this
whining and ship it off in a nice big box…duty free! We will miss being with our friends and family this year, but I know we will create some new
traditions this year in Germany that we will remember for many years to come! (hopefully they will involve singing
much happier songs because I don’t give up so easy and I WILL FIND
CHRISTMAS!!!)
I think you should also try some "real wine" to make that whine go away!!! ha ha!!:) You are so right about it not being about the gifts...it really is about friends and family and staying connected no matter how you do it:) I'm thinking of you,and I'll have a little "cup 'o Christmas cheer" and think of you!!!! Hang in there! Love,m:)
ReplyDelete"And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled ’till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more." - The Grinch. Let's have a glass of wine and a Skype date.
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