And Another One Goes Down In The Books

Another Christmas season is behind us and frankly, I'm tired. I love Christmas and all the festivities leading up to the big day but pulling it all off is a lot of work. There are cookie boxes to be made, a house to be decorated, dishes to be done, meals to be planned, shopped for and created. And then there are the gifts. Although we eschew the over commercialized nature of Christmas and instead purchase a few small gifts for Sidney on Santa's behalf, they still need to be wrapped and placed in stockings and under the tree. As is the case with most school children Sidney is in the midst of his winter break and because Glenn is attached to a NATO command that openly recognizes not a lot happens over the holidays, his entire office is closed as well. So they are both on vacation and home all day. Amidst all of the holiday preparations they've been playing, reading, watching movies and generally relaxing. Without playing chauffeur I too have had more time on my hands but the groceries still need to be bought, meals cooked and laundry done. And the list goes on.......

And once again it all came together this holiday season with Sidney declaring Santa making this "the best Christmas ever". I love how Santa gets all of the credit while his elves do all the work but in the end it doesn't matter because experiencing Christmas through Sidney's five year old eyes makes it all worth it. But this doesn't negate the fact that I am still tired. Very tired.

We're now in the midst of what has become a family holiday tradition of taking a trip over the holidays. Whether it be exploring Slovenia, Bavaria, Italy or now England, we've decided that creating a family memory is much more important than opening mass produced presents that will soon be forgotten. I truly love our family getaways and like the festivities leading up to Christmas, all of the work ahead of time is worth what we get out of them. Pictures will be taken and memories made and all too soon we will be back to the reality of our home and the never ending chores that go along with it. Mountains of vacation laundry will need to be overcome, more dishes to deal with, the refrigerator restocked, decorations will need to be carefully packed away and the tree, which is so much fun to put up and decorate will need to be dismantled and stowed until next year. And as I go about doing all of this I will once again dream about a holiday season filled with fun, festivities and relaxation.  Perhaps next year will be the year that meals are magically cooked and served, the house decorates itself and clothes don't get dirtied. (I can dream at least, right?). It will be something to look forward too and in will once again be here before we know it. Just think, there are only 333 days until Thanksgiving and the official kickoff of holiday season 2015!

Fireworks & All That American Jazz

A towering cone of cotton candy: the
verdict? Sweet. And sticky

Last night was a first for us; on what was our fourth Independence Day spent overseas, we attended our first "real" 4th of July celebration. And by real I mean all of the food, games, festivities and of course fireworks that I remember from the Independence Days of my childhood. The celebration wasn't huge but it gave us the little piece of home that we didn't quite realize we were missing. And, most importantly and my absolute favorite part of the night, was introducing Sidney to his first All-American celebration. And that was pretty amazing.

Even when we were in the United States, we weren't carnival or fair people but last night's small dose of Americana was pretty darn nice. A portion of the base had been transformed into a fair grounds with super sized tents, music, food vendors and rides. With the exception of a few intermittent showers (which is impressive by Belgium standards) the evening was dry. While DJs played their music, pimply teenagers were on the prowl, toddlers ran around underfoot and crowds milled around the tents drinking American beers and eating all of the foods I associate with fairs. My pulled pork sandwich followed by funnel cake was one of the best things I had eaten in a long time. I contributed this to the fact that I have eaten neither of these items in years if not decades. Sidney's first foray into cotton candy was a sweet and sticky adventure but then again what child doesn't have memories of eating mounds of spun sugar.

Sidney watched the carnival rides with fascination immediately declaring that he wanted to ride on the biggest and scariest ride of them all. We talked him out of it and instead he happily rode the bumper cars with Glenn. I remember riding the bumper cars with my own father at the same age and little seems to have changed. Each bump was met with a peal of laughter and a request for more. Then there was the fun house and the giant slides that Sidney slide down over and over again. He contemplated a tilt-a-whirl which he studied for a long time. Sidney initially wanted to take a ride but after watching it spin for several turns decided to wait "until he is six". But because we are on a military base in Belgium the entertainment went beyond the traditional carnival rides. Period actors dressed was World War II attire stood along side jeeps and weaponry of the time. Kids tried on the helmets and tested the guns as parents snapped pictures. (I'll be honest, I never dreamed I'd be watching my son hop amongst the artillery at a carnival). But he loved it.

Because this was the Fourth, the highlight of the evening was the fireworks that concluded the evening. Now we saw a lot of fireworks while we were in Albania; they regularly lit the sky in bits and spurts throughout the year with New Years bringing about the biggest bang of them all. While their scale was impressive they were noisy, chaotic and tinged with a bit of danger. They lacked the artistic design of well orchestrated shows and most often left me feeling agitated. Sidney was equally impressed and scared by the Albanian fireworks. But last night? That was an entirely different story. As he laid on the grass on the edge of the baseball field looking up at the sky, he provided us with an ongoing commentary about their color, size and shape. His descriptions were punctuated with giggles of laughter and such adjectives as amazing, wonderful and magnificent.

Watching him watch the fireworks filled me with motherly happiness since my little boy was finally experiencing one of the joys from my own childhood. Sometimes I worry about the simple things he is missing out on because of our living overseas. He may have visited most of Europe's capitols but he's never experienced a real American Fourth of July. Until last night that is. And as we drove home close to midnight (after all it stays light really late here in Belgium) he continued to chatter excitedly about his evening. As he said, he had so much fun. I'm sure that many of his memories of his overseas childhood will only be fleeting in later years. I'm hopeful that last night is one of the ones he remembers.

Fireworks 

Observing one of the rides. After
studying it Sidney informed us that when
he is six he will be big enough to ride it.

Celebrating Poland

I'm half Polish but it wasn't until this past year that I really began to embrace my heritage.  My desire to get to know and better understand my lineage came about during the lead up to a wonderful week I spent in Poland. The trip was everything I had hoped it would be but rather than leaving me satisfied, it left me craving more. I wanted to see more of the beautiful country, enjoy more of the country's cuisine, and learn more about her history. But alas, life has a way of keeping me busy and I haven't had a chance to return and explore more of the motherland. Yet, that is. I know I will return at some point but in the meantime, I'm taking advantage of the next best thing.

One of the wonderful things about our current posting in Belgium is the diverse international community that we are now a part of. With twenty-eight NATO countries and a handful of other partners being represented in our little community, there is always a cultural event taking place. We attend the ones we can and make note of the others for planning next year's activities. And much to my delight, the most recent cultural event we attended was the celebration of Poland's constitution.

Poland's constitution was adopted on May 3, 1791 making it it oldest democratic constitution in Europe and only second in the world to the United States. But just because Poland had a constitution didn't mean it was smooth going for the country. If anything, over the course of the next two centuries her politics proved to be anything but easy. The country and her people endured uprisings, occupations, the reign of Nazi terror, and decades of Communism rule before the revolution of 1989 finally brought about democracy. But through it all Poles persevered. It is no wonder that the country takes such pride in their heritage and that pride was on display last night.

Although Polish Constitution Day is actually on the 3rd of May, on SHAPE it was celebrated last night. And to celebrate, we attended an impressive concert and cultural performance by the Representative Artistic Ensemble of the Polish Army that incorporated music, dancing, and a history lesson with contemporary Polish music. Singers and dancers moved us along the path of Poland's history from the adoption of the constitution through the turbulent years of World War Two. Although I didn't understand most of the words (they were in Polish after all), the meaning and emotions were clear. Because Sidney often has ants in his pants and can't sit still, this was the first sit down concert we brought him to. Sure he wiggled around a bit but he also tapped his fingers and toes to the beat of the music and oohed and ahed at the brightly colored costumes. As he said, the pretty lady was wearing a red dress and the singers (a.k.a. soldiers) had swords.  What more does a four year old boy need?

And his Mamma? More than ever, she just wants a return visit to Poland. Soon......

One of the many dances