Dream A Little Dream

When is a dream just a dream and when is it more than that? Is it better to be realistic and perhaps a bit too cautious or should you dream big and just go for it. Do you dive directly into the deep end of the pool or wade in one toe at a time? Is it an all or nothing proposition?

I'm talking about life here and more specifically the future. In the choose your own adventure novel of life how do you know whether you are making the right decision or wandering down a path that is less certain? If you only live once what do you have to lose? Everything? Nothing? Something in between?

So on the cusp of a new year I'm dreaming. I'm dreaming big but am realizing that anything is possible. Its exciting; its scary; and its not completely out of the realm of possibility....which makes it all the scarier. But, I'm not going to stop dreaming. The question is, which end of the pool do I enter from?

Just Call Me Julie

Military families living overseas are often caught in an odd abyss. In strictest terms we aren't really expats since we know we are only guests in our host countries for a limited time. Because of our military status we are often exempt from many of the requirements residents of our host country, in our case Belgium, must abide by. (In our case, our biggest perk is taxes. Europe's Value Added Tax (VAT) can add hundreds if not thousands of dollars/ Euros to the cost of everyday goods and services; for the most part we are exempted from paying them. This is a huge benefit). And because we are stationed overseas at a military installation, we have access to many of the services that we are accustomed to having at home; an on base health care center, commissaries, libraries, and schools are all services that are provided to us to help make our lives a little bit easier. And as is the case with the schools, there is the understanding that because we are only in our locations on a temporary basis, our children will eventually return to the United States, attend American schools and need to keep up with the stateside based peers. This means that the schools and therefore the base provides our children with the same curriculum and extra curricular opportunities that they would have if they were still living in America. Sometimes it feels as though we have the best of both worlds....until we don't. That's when you realize the dangers of getting too comfortable in your surroundings and what you know and not taking the time to explore your host community.

With such easy access to military sponsored services and activities, it is too easy to come to rely upon them. Such is my recent experience in attempting to enroll Sidney in a summer camp. Its never too early to start planning for summer activities for children and in doing so in late March I felt as though I was already running late. After all, in the U.S. summer camp enrollment begins early in the new year. Regardless of the late date I went ahead and went to the "Child, Youth, & School Office" on base to see about finding a summer camp for Sidney. It turns out that I wasn't too late, rather at 4 1/2 years old, my son is simply too young for the single camp that is offered. Disappointed but determined I asked about stand alone activities; t-ball, soccer, swimming, arts & crafts....I was looking for any activity to keep my active boy engaged over the long summer weeks. Nada. Zip. Nil. The response was the same. None of these activities are offered during the summer for the pre-school aged set. When I asked why, after all there are a ton of younger children here, I was told that most people leave for the summer so there simply isn't a demand for them. Really? I mean really? If we were in the U.S. every community recreation program would have an entire menu of activities for this age group. Soccer fields would be filled with tiny players honing their skills, swimming pools would be filled with budding Olympians, and kids would be coming home every evening exhausted from a full day of activities. (I'll be honest, it is times like this when I wonder if we are making the right decision for our son; I worry that Sidney is missing out on activities and events other kids his age are readily experiencing). But no activities for the younger set; that is just plain disappointing. So what is a mom to do?

Readers of a certain age are sure to remember Julie McCoy, the perpetually perky activities director on The Love Boat. She spent each cruise ensuring that guests had a menu of activities to choose from and that all of their needs were met. There are times when I feel like this is my role and right now is one of them. Without any comprehensive options for a summer full of fun and educational opportunities for Sidney I'm putting together my own version of a Belgian summer camp. We have several long weekend trips planned and will be spending most of July back on the East Coast. We've bought passes to the local zoo that has been rated the best in BENELUX and I'm investigating the availability of both horseback riding and swimming lessons in the Mons community. Summer is festival season in Europe so we'll seek out one or two to attend. And with this being a big anniversary year for key world war battles, reenactments are sure to abound. If that isn't enough, Belgium has hundreds of miles of bicycle trails just waiting to be ridden. And there are so many chateaus, parks, playgrounds, and battlefields right in our backyard to explore. We won't be bored by any means (I'll just be a bit tired). Come June we'll be setting sail and are sure to have a good time.

Welcome aboard!

Oh The Places We Will Go??????

As I took down our Christmas tree this morning I found my self thinking about the year that lays ahead.  What does 2013 have in store for us?  Only time will tell for sure.  Will it be a continuation of 2012 or something completely different? Will we have new adventures with never a dull moment?   Will moments of incredible frustration be intermingled with fantastic opportunities that makes even the toughest days worth it?  Yes, yes, and yes again.  With just a year remaining of our time in Albania I'm realizing that from here on out everything will be our "last".  This May we will celebrate our last Armed Forces Day and in July will stand in our last Independence Day receiving line in Albania.  We will swelter through our last long hot summer in Tirana and relish in our last limitless harvest of figs, mandarins, and pomegranates.  We will have one final holiday season of wondering whether our mail will arrive before the big days and I will put together one final Thanksgiving dinner with make shift substitutions taking the place of real American ingredients.  Yes, this coming year is sure to be an adventure.

At this point next year we will once again be packing up our house and preparing for our next move. Where to you ask?  We don't know and the answer really isn't in our hands.  Rather, the U.S. Navy will decide where we land next.  (Or will it; if Glenn retires then the future is completely in our hands but in turn, that will open up a whole new set of possibilities, complications, and decisions that need to be made).  Sure we'll have some input but in the end the decision isn't really ours to make.  Will we be researching neighborhoods, commute times, and house hunting stateside or searching for rental property overseas?  Regardless of where we call our next home, for the first time schools will factor into our housing decision.   As hard as it is for me to believe, Sidney will be starting school during our next set of orders.  Do we go the public route and buy in a good school district or do we opt for private and live in a funky neighborhood where our money will go farther?  Will I be adding a job search to my list of things to investigate? If so, what type of job do I want?  Full time, part time, in my career field or something completely new.  The possibilities are endless............

In the meantime there are many things we want to accomplish in the year we have left.  Of course there is the pesky thing called work.  For both Glenn and I work, along with all of its dueling responsibilities and commitments will continue to be in the forefront of our lives.   But, during our final year in Albania, we will strive to keep it all in perspective.  We hope to finish our European travel bucket list before we depart.  Already trips are planned for Greece, France, England, Italy, and Poland and in honor of my celebrating a "significant birthday" this year, plans are underway for a girls getaway to Spain.  And of course there are places right here in Albania that we want to explore.  On the home front things will be changing.  I will make a concerted effort to mend our fragile family ties that have been tested over the past few years.  2013 will also be the year that Sidney, despite his stubbornness and refusal to cooperate, will become toilet trained.  (Accomplishing this will make traveling so much easier and lighter!).  I also vow to take better care of myself and my little family in the coming year.  No longer will we be last on my long to-do list.  Proper sit down dinners, with at least one new dish a week, will be a new family routine.  Play time, hanging out time, and opportunities for pure relaxation will now be a priority.  And I will make time for myself.  Whether it be  cooking, blogging, reading, or sitting and doing absolutely nothing, I will make the time to do it each and every day.  

It looks like 2013 will be quite the year.  Regardless of what it holds in store for us, every moment will be an adventure!

Albania is Like Cheesecake

We recently hosted a dinner for several members of the attache corp here in Albania.  All eight of us at the table enjoy good quality food that is both well prepared and well presented. Glenn and I put together the guest list thinking that this would be an opportunity to serve more flavorful and unique food than many of our usual guests find palatable.  I loved the idea of this dinner but as I set about actually planning and preparing each dish, I began to second guess the wisdom behind the entire evening.

With the dinner planned for a Monday evening and my having to work all that day, I spent most of the previous weekend doing the actual shopping and cooking. As is the case with most things in Albania, everything here is more difficult than it should be.  Not being able to find the ingredients I needed, each course of my menu kept changing until it barely resembled what I had originally planned.  While I was rushing through my preparations, I figured that if all else failed, my New York style cheesecake, made with the last of my real Philadelphia cream cheese imported from the Navy Commissary in Naples, Italy, would be the saving grace of the dinner.   That was until the bottom of the pan fell out leaving me covered in a smooth and decadent mixture of cream cheese, eggs, and cookie crumbs.

I was close to tears as I mopped up the sticky mess from the floor, stove top, and front of the hot oven where it had immediately petrified upon contact.  I was angry at myself for rushing and being careless; I furiously wondered what I could serve as a substitute, and I wondered how I would now get everything done in my already rushed time frame.  Instead of comforting me, the sympathy being extended by Glenn and Sidney only fueled my anger.  As I chipped baked-on batter from the crevices of the range (how on earth did this gooey mess spread so quickly?) I began to reflect on the whole situation and realized that if I had just taken the time to be careful, if I had made sure that the spring form pan was really secured, and I had placed it on the cookie sheet BEFORE filling it with the batter, I wouldn't have had this problem.  My take away from this experience is that if you take the time to do it correctly, things will always work out better in the end.  My brain really was spinning because as I scrubbed up the last remants of my failed dessert I started comparing my flopped cheesecake to the country of Albania.  Yes, you read that correctly:  my cheesecake mess is much like the country of Albania.

Since we first arrived here, both Glenn and I have felt that Albania is a country with so many possibilities but whose potential seems to be fading away by the day.  From the country's poorly planned and implemented infrastructure to its lack of building codes resulting in uncontrolled sprawl, Albania is bursting at her seams and taking her magnificent natural beauty with her. In the quest for instant gratification, houses are built where there is empty space but this is done without proper considerations being made to access to public services and utilities.  Hence one problem is simply compounded with another.  In a pre-election year roads are being built and paved at a rapid pace.  While they may look good now one wonders whether they will withstand the test of time--or even a year or two.  Government officials make decisions and enact laws that benefit a few at the expense of the many; again, this may result in splashy instant gratification but the longer term consequences are often detrimental to all of Albanian society.  Unfortunately it appears that in the rush to make up for lost time, too many corners are being cut and shortcuts taken.  Remember, just because you paint a pretty picture or drive the big car with shiny hubcaps doesn't mean that what lies underneath is made of quality material.  Care in planning needs to happen now before it is too late to rectify all of the past mistakes and to prevent future ones.

See, Albania really is like my cheesecake.  If I had taken the time to plan and implement it correctly from the beginning, I wouldn't have found myself in such a mess.  If Albania had taken the time to plan for her future, they wouldn't be in the current mess they are in today either.  Eating a well made cheesecake is a heavenly experience; visiting a well planned and operated Albania could be as well.

P.S.  I ended up making a flourless chocolate cake that turned out to be a hit.