For all the moaning and complaining I do about the German weather (trust me, it's quite a bit!) I have to say that this summer has been much better than I ever expected. While we have had some really hot, nasty days - really really hot and humid - usually there are no more than four in a row and then the weather breaks.
Such was the case this week. Monday was warm, Tuesday was hot, and Wednesday was miserable. Also on Wednesday, I managed to smack T in the face with the bathroom door and bloody his nose. I'll be handing back my "Mom of the Year" award now....what's that? I never GOT a "Mom of the Year" award? Well, that explains a lot, doesn't it? Sheesh. We took him to the doctor to make sure that nothing was broken, and the Sgt that checks us into the clinic opens with, "We pulled his file. T has a lot of accidents doesn't he?" Oy. I'm totally willing to bet that I get a call and possibly a visit from whatever social services type agency exists on base. And let's face it, since the time he's we moved here, he's suffered two nasty head bumps within a week, a dog bite, slamming his finger in the bathroom door, and now a bloody nose. Throw in his fevers, ear infections, and generally ear splitting vocal protest of anything doctor related and well - there you have it - I'd be suspicious too. I'm sure that most of the medical staff has also seen or heard T screaming for one reason or another out in public and most likely also seen me carting him out of the bx or commissary over my shoulder while he was screaming like a banshee. But thankfully, no serious damage was done to his nose, and other than pointing out to me four or five times a day that I hurt his nose, we all survived this experience and it's safe to say that R and I are seriously thinking about removing the bathroom door from it's hinges in our bedroom since that's the door that has been the site of all the really traumatic accidents.
Deep breath after that spectacular run-on sentence. After leaving the clinic, we decided to drive around in air conditioned comfort for a little while. We went to the main base and filled up with gas, grabbed a drink, and headed home. On the way home, I noticed that the clouds looked funny - and I asked R if he knew if this place had tornadoes or not. Neither of us knew, and the radio said nothing about any sort of severe weather. When we got to our housing area, the first thing we noticed is that a tree had either been blown over or hit by lightening and had knocked down a section of fence at the entrance to our housing area. Then we saw other trees down and debris all over the place. Trash bins has been moved by the wind to different locations, and these were big, metal bins. A few other trees were down, but we didn't see any other damage. When we walked into our living room, I said, "is that water on the floor?" and sure enough - there was. Whatever storm ripped through here managed to blow rain in through our partially opened windows and then suck them shut. The curtains in T's room were down, and there was water all over the floor in our bathroom too. I love storms, but I'm glad we missed this one. I think it would have scared the kids. I'm also glad we managed not to drive right into it. On the plus side, our floors are now pretty clean.
This is "Explore the Area" week. The base mostly shuts down for a few days so that we can all go and spend our hard-earned, poor exchange rate money in local communities. Thursday, which was our first day off, dawned warm, humid, and rainy. We packed a lunch for all of us, grabbed the guide in the base paper and headed out to explore. First stop - Nurburgring - home of a G4 simulator and Formula One track. On non race weekends, you can pay money to drive a section of the track in your own car. That's gotta be sexy in a minivan, right? While we found the track with no problem, the base paper neglecgted to give an address for the museum/attraction center - so after looking for it for a while, we decided to head back and find something else to do.
And then it started pouring down rain. Next stop was a moated castle. We passed it twice without realizing it, so it's safe to say that we were expecting something a little more statuesque. Still, it was a very pretty castle, albeit small. So I jumped out into the pouring down rain and snapped a few pics. At that point, soaked to the skin and with two tired kids, we headed home. The next day we went to the American Cemetery in Luxembourg. It was very powerful - all those crosses in such a calm and silent place. It would be hard for me to know that my loved one was buried across the sea in a foreign land, no matter how beautiful and well-kept the cemetery was. My heart goes out to the families of all those men who made that sacrifice and again, I'm reminded how lucky we are and how grateful I am to be American. It's easy to lose sight of that sometimes.
Leaving Luxembourg, we came home and put the kids down for a nap. The base was having a 4th event thingy so we headed to check that out. Harrumph. It was advertised as having activiites for the kids and adults alike with food and drink and fun for all. Umm, the reality of it was far from what we expected. R paid for a plate of food, which was supposed to be a burger, hot dog, chips and a drink. Almost an hour later, he was still in line waiting for his food. The people in front of him were just piling their plates to the sky and the poor schmuck that was stuck out there grilling had to deal with the angry masses watching this poorly planned meal line. I wouldn't be surprised if he quit halfway through the afternoon. We ended up leaving - there was no way to keep the kids entertained and happy until the fireworks started. We headed back for the fireworks show, but the kids were so tired by that point that the fireworks did't impress them much. Still, the weather was clear and amazing on Friday, not too hot or cold, and getting the kids to bed had never been easier. So, we've definitely explored the area this week and seen a lot of new and interesting things. It's so strange to live in a country where it's 65 degrees on July 4th, though. I just hope this weather pattern continues (crossing fingers).
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