Lifes juxtaposed (and other happenings in my world)

No, that "s" on the end of "life" is not a typo. :-)

Over the past couple of weeks my family has experienced a wide variety of emotions. The week before last, two women from church gave birth. One birth went smoothly while the other was 2 months early and brought some concerns, though everything seems to be going okay now. Then, my sister got engaged and Ms. Lillie, a close family friend, passed away. Last Monday night was Ms. Lillie's visitation and memorial service. My mom and I could only stay for the visitation, though, because we had to meet Amanda for her appointment to look at wedding dresses. It seemed so odd to me to have plans that fell into such opposite ends of the spectrum and for them to occur on the same evening.

As I thought about it, though, I began to realize that while the events of the past 2 weeks seem to have nothing in common, at the core they are exactly the same: each portrays new life.

The births obviously represent new life in its most literal sense --new people entered the world. Matt and Amanda's engagement is the beginning of their preparations for a new life together. And Ms. Lillie's death, while it appears to be the antithesis of life, was her birth into a new eternal life outside of the confines of this physical one.

Maybe I just think too much about things, but it struck me as interesting that things that appear on the surface to be so dissimilar are actually very much alike. Welcome to the oddities of my mind.

In other news...the past week has been full of appointments with insurance companies, research into and decisions about banking options in Germany, and emails between the Springers, the Abercrombies, and myself. The congregation in Bremen expressed concerns over where I will live when I first arrive, so we have been trying to sort that out as well. The initial plan was for me to live in the apartment on the 3rd floor of the church building while I look for my own apartment. It's now looking like I'll be living with Ingrid, a wonderful woman from the church who lives by herself in the house she used to share with her daughter, Hanna. I think this will be a great opportunity for both of us. Ingrid's mother passed away back in the spring, and it sounds like she's a bit lonely. It will be a wonderful opportunity for me to not only get to know Ingrid better but also to learn a lot more about daily German life and culture. Besides that, I can't think of a better way for me to improve my German.

Yesterday afternoon I was gladly surprised to receive a phone call from Elsa Springer. I guess the last time I talked to her was back in July, so it was wonderful to hear from her. After speaking with her, I remembered that yesterday, October 3rd, was the Day of German Unity. (I have a very strange way of remembering dates. My brother once emailed me while I was in Arkansas and asked me when his best friend's birthday was. My response: "February 5th, of course.") On October 3, 1990, East and West Germany reunited as one country, and it's now a national holiday akin to our Fourth of July. So, happy 16th anniversary, Germany! :-)

Saturday was a great day. My family spent the day in Ohio visiting with my dad's family. I hadn't seen any of them since last Christmas. Besides getting to see my grandparents, my dad's brother and sister and their spouses, and 3 of my cousins, I also got to visit with a woman I have always known as "Grandma Flory." She isn't actually my grandmother. When my dad and his siblings were growing up, Mrs. Flory and her late husband served as their foster parents for awhile. Dad, Uncle Bryan, and Aunt Kelli still call her "mom." She's an amazing testimony to the influence adults can have on the lives of young children. Besides that, she's really funny. She's 88 and doesn't get around as well as she used to, but she still speaks her mind whenever she feels the need and is sure to kiss everyone present before she leaves. I hadn't seen her in probably 4 or 5 years, and I was so glad she could come on Saturday. She brought with her a bunch of pictures of my dad and his siblings from when they were kids, as well as some of my dad's drawings from when he lived with the Florys. We all enjoyed laughing at the pictures and admiring Dad's artwork. To round out the day, my mom, Aunt Kelli, and I beat my dad and my grandparents in a showdown of 6-handed Euchre. Then, Ohio State beat Iowa (my apologies to Hannah, Lisa D., and others of my Iowan buddies in Searcy). It was an all-around great day. :-)

Also in the past couple of weeks, I've been attempting to fulfill my sisterly duties in helping Amanda pick out dresses for her wedding. Amanda has asked me to be the maid of honor, so I'll be coming back to the States next July for the "big day."

So, life is busy but blessed. I'm enjoying my time with my family but also eagerly anticipating my work in Bremen. If you have stuck around this long to read this whole post, thank you, and I hope you and yours are doing well. Gott mit Euch!