Germany would be a change of scenery for you...may not be the same, could be better? You don't have so many contacts in Germany, that this won't be a good thing, in the long run? My manager at work married and has two beautiful kids with a polish woman. They go each year, and stay with HER parents, with the kids. It is a bi cultural and intellectual boost for him. Even though he is pretty cosmopolitan, being Lebanese, and fluent in at least 4 languages, he comes back pretty full of new cultural experiences, and new ideas on diet.
I have a friend that served, he was able to buy a house and land in Washington to raise his family in. The armed forces pay well, and give lots of breaks to their people, so your friend and his family will be better off, when he returns? You and Dj will have to learn the camara phone, so you can still have quality time with your friends. I met a girl from Australia, that met a guy here, failed to connect in LA while she was here, and she got to the point of true love that led to marriage in later numerous visits with these web-cams and stuff. Jeez, with Dj's knowledge, it should seem like they are still in the house visiting you. Technology is so amazing....
Yeah, we have a camera phone and we gave Jay and his family one yesterday and DJ gave Jay all of the software. Jay's wife and her 2 kids are from Germany. They will be 2 hours from Steph's family. Vicki and Alex (Steph's 2 kids) were born in Germany. They go visit a lot so Vicki and Alex know the culture and they'll fit right in with no problem they are both also fluent in German. I just worry about Kayla (our goddaughter). Kayla has had a hard life. Kayla's mom got custody of her when Jay and her mom split up. Kayla's mom moved her to Florida. Kayla's mom is a drunk and had more babies. Kayla is 12 tomorrow and raised her brothers and sisters. Kayla is grown beyond her age. Steph says she's getting better about it but when she first came home she was trying to mother Vicki and Alex. Well, thats all she knows. Anyway, long story short, Kayla just came to NJ at the beginning of the summer and told her mom she was never coming back. Now they're packing her up and moving her to Germany. In the end it will be a good thing but I'm afraid it will be hard on her in the beginning. She's picking up a little German from the other 3 and is trying real hard. I just worry about her like I would my own daughter. I'm afraid it will be too much on her in the beginning. I worry she'll get stressed out. Steph is real good to her though and will take good care of her. She'll watch out for her and make sure she isn't getting overwhelmed and stressed. If it were just Kayla I wouldn't worry so much but since Vicki and Alex know the language and know the culture I'm afraid it will bother Kayla. They'll be a lot better off when they come back, if they come back. Talking to Steph last night I think she's going to push to stay. I don't think Jay will like that. It may cause problems with them. I think she forced Jay to go over there in the first place. He would have to go somewhere anyway but from talking to Jay I think he wanted to stay in the states. He feels he's gone out of the country enough. I'm not 100% sure about any of this but from talking to both of them and knowing their feelings this is the feeling I'm getting. Kayla is willing to go anywhere as long as she doesn't have to go back to her mom.
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Saving just one dog won't save the world, but it surely will change the world for that one dog. -Richard C. Call
Sounds like her mom was a drag. She won't care about the language things...She will learn whatever words she needs, and she sounds savvy enough to find herself the bathroom. Her English speaking may be more exciting to the locals, and a young American girl is USDA prime for all kinds of folks that want to come to this country. That may be hard, with guys throwing themselves at you, their motivations unclear....Needless to say, she should be popular. If she was raising siblings, she is likely a good communicator, and no mousy pushover...just guessing.
She's definitely not a pushover. She's a beautiful girl. The prettiest skin I've ever seen. She won't have any problems over there but that doesn't make me worry any less. Yeah, we'll go over there, quite a bit I assume. Jay and DJ have been friends since they were little so aside from me and him missing the kids, DJ will have Jay withdrawals and vice versa. DJ is Jewish and since Steph is German they tease each other a lot. She says she keeps the oven on pre-heat for when we come over. So they were teasing each other a lot last night about when we go visit. I've never been to Germany. Its never been anywhere I wanted to visit until now. We thought we'd go over around Christmas. Kaitlyn is going to have a hard time with the kids being gone too. They play together about every other weekend. They mentioned Kaitlyn maybe spending a few week over there in the summer. I would like that. I think that would be good for her. I would like her to be well versed in different cultures.
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Saving just one dog won't save the world, but it surely will change the world for that one dog. -Richard C. Call
i spent a year in achaffenburg, germany. both brothers were statined there also , one in kitzigen and the other bad kissingen . their wives were with them. we were all in a triangle . about an hour away from each other.
i loved it there and did not want to come home. we lived in a little town. it was beautiful and so peaceful. it was like going back in time and you dont want to come back. lol my oldest son was born at the 97th general hospital, frankfurt, germany.
I can see you doing it. You have the perfect excuse. Not like taking the kids to the theatre...they will absorb this in a very much more important way. You are such a good mom, it cannot be but an educational and good experience for your family. Hard to keep hold of a young lady like that, hopefully, she will appreciate what they offer her, as a family, and not strike out on her own [bad idea].
I don't worry about Kayla striking out on her own. This is the first time she's had a family in all of her 12 years. I think she'll hold onto this family with everything she has. You can tell she's never had the affection a child needs. When she would visit in the summers she would hug constantly and hold someone's hand. It was very sad. She's still a very loveable child but it used to be a needy affection. Now, you can tell it's just because she's wants to. There's is no neediness there. God, I'm going to miss her. I will miss all 3 of the kids but I have to be honest, it's mostly Kayla. I think we're going to go to take them to dinner on Tues. for one last goodbye before they go. I don't think any of us will make it until Christmas to visit as is the plan.
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Saving just one dog won't save the world, but it surely will change the world for that one dog. -Richard C. Call