December 08, 2016

10 years in the US

10 years ago today I packed my bags and left everything I knew far behind and moved to the US! 
Which means my little blog here is a little over 10 years old as well!
Wow, that’s so hard to believe. A lot of you have been with me since the very beginning and some of you have found my blog later and have been part of our lives ever since and I’m thankful for each and every one of you! I love being able to look back over the last ten years of my life on this blog and have it all documented. 
And while it seems so long ago that I left my little village in Germany, I remember every single detail of that day and it feels like yesterday at the same time. I remember the fear, the excitement and the sadness. I remember how every one of my family members smelled when I hugged them goodbye. I remember what book I read on the airplane. I remember how I lost it when I missed my last flight and had to stay in a hotel room overnight until I could catch the next flight. I remember it all.
Ten years is a long time. I moved to the US, initially thinking that I would try it out for another year and see if I still liked it (my first year being an au pair year a few years prior to that). I think deep down, I always knew I wouldn’t return. 
Funny story: when I was very little, my mom went to a psychic and the psychic told her that I would be moving far, far away some day and not return. She was probably hoping back then, that “far, far away” meant Berlin or Munich. Sorry Mom!
Truth to be told, I can’t imagine my life in Germany anymore. I can’t imagine what it would be like (well, I can, but it scares me). Nothing wrong with Germany, but it’s just not for me. 
I love the United States and more importantly, I love my life here. And after living in the desert for 8 years, I can’t imagine going back to the cold either! 
Of course, not everything is perfect here. The things I wrote about in my 5 year anniversary blog still stay true to this date. I hated that I had to go back to work after having Fox when he was only 3 weeks old. I hate that I can’t be a stay at home mom. I hate the cost of his daycare. I hate how much money health insurance costs and how much you still have to pay when you get sick. I hate having so little vacation time. And I don’t even want to think about how we are going to pay for Fox’s college education one day…we might have to ship him off to Germany! :)
But you can’t have everything and the opportunities that were given to me by living in this beautiful country trump everything. 
Visiting Germany still feels weird to me. It feels oh so familiar, you get flooded with memories wherever you go, you meet people you know everywhere you go, but it also feels very strange. Visiting a life that you left behind so long ago. And when you return, nothing has changed. Absolutely nothing. 
Arizona is my home and I feel grateful and blessed that I had the opportunity to move here and call it my home. 
Happy 10th Anniversary to me!

2 comments:

  1. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to you! Everything turned out (kinda) perfect for you. So happy, that you found your place :)
    P.S.: Except of some minor changes I totally could copy your post in 5 month!

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  2. Yeah to 10 years USA! (just like me +2 month).
    I know exactly how motherhood is different here than in Germany. But we'll make the best out of it! :)
    Happy 10 years (and many more to come)
    Heike

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