Season of Visitors

Yes, it's been radio silence from the DeStefanos. I'm sorry. We have been recharging our batteries, so to speak, and working hard at school--our first semester just came to an end last week--and the ends of semesters, wherever you are in the world, I can tell you, are difficult. But the other reason for our silence is because of a steady line of visitors we have received since Greece. We're not complaining, no. We feel lucky as can be. The world has come to us lately, and what a world it is, well worth commemoration here. It's the belated "Season of Visitors" post--Holiday time with the DeStefanos.

As you have, no doubt, ascertained from previous posts, our preeminent visitor was Grandma Martha, who stayed with us from late September all the way to Christmas... Suzy, you take it from here. We had an amazing Grecian adventure with Grandma, as you all already know. But then she, Katy and I went to Trier, where her family is from, and then went down to Dresden for the weekend to check out a Christmas market that's 588 years old.

(Joe and the triplets were in Hamburg, remember?). Beyond that, and lots of other little adventures around town, Mom just became part of our whole German experience. And whenever things threatened to grow a little dull, or less than totally unpredictable, she would try to liven things up, like break her arm--TWICE! I remember asking our neighbors for a second late-night ride the to Emergency room. "Again?!" "Yep, again."... Seriously, it's tricky enough to adjust to Berlin with the full use of your good arm. And the bone-setting methods here are painful, to say the least. But she was a trooper all the way, and we miss her terribly.

We are so grateful she was able to visit for a few months. We're also so grateful that she has left because we can now actually read or be with our kids or do anything other than play Ticket to Ride, Gin Rummy, or Yahtzee. We have quite a game addiction when my mom is around!

While Grandma was here, though, the Foas (Kory's family) visited for Thanksgiving! It was so fun to have the whole Foa crew, plus Maggie's girlfriend Sophie, and long-time Foa friend Jane. Here we all are watching the World Cup on the projector screen in our living room.

We had so much fun taking them to Christmas markets, biking them around in the cold, and playing lots of games. Yes, more games. Grandma is not the only culprit for our addiction.

Our niece Maggie is going to school at the University of Edinburgh, so we're planning a trip to visit her this coming fall. Here she is with her sister Paige, who is currently attending Colgate, and playing ball, and squatting like 4 million lbs. (--about 2 million kgs).

We love Kory and her family, and though they were as quickly out as they were in, we miss them and their indomitable spirit like nothing else. Indeed, when we ask the kids what they miss most from Colorado, the first name that comes to their lips is Wesley (Kory's youngest), who is going to Arapahoe, shooting game-winning hoops all over Heritage, and growing taller than his mother and father--I mean, even when Kory puts Jason on her shoulders. In one way or another, we all look up to WP.

And then, right after the Foas left, Sara Anne, mine and Katy's good friend from Ft. Collins came with her twins Madi and Aspen. Aspen loves Christmas markets and has always wanted to go to the German ones, and Madi loves WWII history. In other words, Berlin in December couldn't be a more perfect place for those two. We were so grateful for their quick visit and I think the three of them must have slept for a week straight after getting home. Katy and I ran them ragged.

(Okay, Suz, I'm back. I'll take it from here.) All good things must end, and on December 26th, Grandma's great help in transitioning us to our new reality in Germany was over. She hopped on a plane, with one of her remaining good limbs, and returned to Colorado, where she still helps us almost daily with renters, storage, etc., etc. She and Sammy D are our saviors. Brusied, battered, but shining heroically through and through. Grateful is not a big enough word, simply put... Anyway, the very next day, the 27th, we received our great friends the Rudolphs.

They made it in time for a last Christmas market rush, and then we explored Berlin.

Oh, and we brought in the new year with them, German-style. Holy scheisse, New Years Eve is the real deal over here: fireworks from 6 PM to 3 AM, and near-death experiences everywhere, even in our fairly quiet little Berlin suburb. Seriously, they want to outlaw the sale of fireworks, we heard, because the ERs get over-run. Mike and I took a walk halfway down the street, just to take it all in, and the whole while I think we were eyed--like prey. His birthday celebration (--Mike and I are the same age for a little more than a month every year--29 this year, if you were wondering) had nothing on German New Years.

It really couldn't have been more fitting than to launch off onto 2023 with them--and to almost die in the process. We've been through a whole life with them--like twenty whole lives, and we talk to them regularly, but still we miss them badly. We love our Rudolphs.

And apparently, Scout misses being piggy-backed everywhere.

Thank you, Visitors! Please know that our house is open and that we would love to host anyone interested in a European adventure. In fact, we'll close this post with a pretty big announcement: We are staying in Germany for another school year. In other words, start planning your trip. We are a great launching-off point, if nothing else! We're learning more and more each day about this cool city--about this big world--it's a beautiful, wondrous place, and we want to share it with you! Plan away. You can update us on cool things like the Avalanche, and the Chiefs, etc. And we'll send you back with JFKS sweatshirts...