(the boys a yr ago when we arrived!)

It’s hard to believe but we have been in Bern just over a year. I remember the day like it was yesterday. We got to our new home, jet-lagged and adrenaline rushing for the new adventure. The house was empty, lacking the temporary furniture we had arranged for. We had our 8 suitcases and a packnplay…oh yes, and a curious toddler and an overtired, out of sorts 7 month old. We had made it through the weeks of chaos surrounding Seth’s German exam and our pack out. We had survivied the trip and now we were “home” .

Our social sponsor had picked up some basic groceries for us and made us a meal. She drove me around to different groceries stories and introduced me to our store just up the hill. We didn’t have our car for the first few months so my calves muscles quickly trimmed in the pursuit of groceries, laundry soap and entertainment for 2 little ones.  The temporary furniture was delivered along with our small shipment of necessities.  I did my best to settle the kids into a routine and get my barrings straight. Coming into this move I thought it would be a piece of cake, well, maybe not a piece of cake, but I anticipated it would be more “dessert-like” than Bogota. Bogota was not a bad post but there were safety restrictions and other factors while we were there that made life more complicated than I had hoped. Especially with a small child.

The first week rolled into the second here and the weeks into months and I woke each morning with the goal of “getting us settled”. I soon realized this was taking longer than I had hoped. Logistically speaking everything went smoothly and all of the ducks were in a row. We had been super organized and I had made lots of contacts before coming. I could be organized and line the ducks up but I couldn’t write the script of our time in Bern. Our first year has been one of discovering so many new things about the culture and beauty of Switzerland. I can honestly say looking back that I have had more culture shock here than I had in Bogota. I naively thought being in Europe would mean that things would feel much more like what we were accustomed to. Instead, we have found the Swiss to be unique in their social interactions and privacy. We are even still often baffled as we try to navigate the social climate here. And while in Bogota we could rely on the Embassy community for our social outlet we quickly discovered that Bern, in addition to be a small post with less people, is generally more disconnected socially. Who needs social events when you have the Alps’ to hike and all of Europe out your back door? A year in we have made some friends and have settled into a routine. I have discovered that some people who have done the Foreign Service/Expat life are able to jump into friendships because they know they can’t waste time and others have been weathered by the coming and goings and enter into friendship with great reserve.  As a second tour family I think we are still finding a balance with this. I am typically one to invest deeply and with little reserve but I find myself feeling more reserved here.   I often long for social settings back home when I didn’t come home exhausted from navigating the cultural stuff.  Building new friendships every couple of years feels a bit like a full time job and takes so much energy!

We have seen amazing beauty in the mountains and scenery here. The views are breathtaking. We have thoroughly enjoyed having a river and woods so close by. I never knew that little boys have an intrinsic need to throw rocks into water and collect sticks. Switzerland has been great for our boys in providing them the great outdoors! Spiders galore!  Although restaurants are not kid-friendly there are many parks and wide open spaces to run!

Our boys have grown and matured so much this year. I will remember our first yr in Bern as a season of getting to know Owen’s sense of humor, watching learning to walk, talk and really become an active little family member. And I will remember watching Jackson navigate a new country, school and friends.  I will remember hearing him miss his home that he knew but still waking up each day enthusiastically asking me who we would meet and where we would go. He has taught me a lot about making the most of it. He never stops!

We have had the priviledge of hosting so many friends and family in Swiss Chalet Kolb. Visits from friends and family get us out to explore new areas of Switzerland.  They also give us an excuse to have lots of fondue and chocolate! If my math is correct by the end of September we will have hosted 24 people in our home (not counting the repeats of visitors from germany :)) this year to stay and many more local people for dinners, etc. The guesthouse is hoppin!  October begins off season around here. We will have some time to catch our breath focus on keeping up with 2 on the go boys!

At the end of the day as much as this is an amazing place to live, it really is just normal everyday life as I have said before.  We have pediatrician appointments, lots of rainy days, run out of milk and bread kind of days just like you do in your home. Being in Switzerland isn’t all postcards and pots of fondue.  We feel blessed with the opportunity to be here and we have enjoyed sharing it with all of you via visits and the blog.

With less than a year left I can feel the months beginning to fly by. We are making the most of our time here and enjoying as much chocolate and fondue to last a lifetime doing Gillian’s 30 day shred to make sure we don’t come home 30 lbs heavier!

whew, if you made it through this reflection post you are none the wiser! The title warned you it was random!

It’s been a heavy week at our house. My grandfather passed away, we have been making some big decisions regarding bidding, tough news from the US, missing my bestie living in Germany so I can talk to her in my timezone and just general emotional burnout from it all.

BUT we are plugging along and enjoying the simple things.

The boys and I kept busy this week with playdates and meeting people at the pool. Our pool is more of a park/pool mix. It is a huge grassy area with a park and a bunch of different pools at different play levels. They also have a huge sandpit and a cage with bunnies so when the kids tire of the pool we just bounce around to the other areas and burn off all of that summer energy. Everyone rides home quiet and satisfied.

The other uber exciting thing from our week was the “fill a bag for 6 swiss francs!” In a country where almost nothing seems to cost CHF6  this was a bargain!! The grocery store runs a sale a couple of times a week where they have a spread of a variety of produce and you can fill a bag as full as possible for one price. Yesterday it was eggplant, a variety of peppers, zucchini, and tomatoes. I PACKED that sucker. When I checked out a pepper fell out if the top. The check out lady gave me that “are you serious lady?” look and I think my look back said something like “well, yes, yes I am, now ring it up sister”.  I see ratatouille in our future!!

We are preparing for another wave of guests! My little brother and his wife are coming in two weeks. A couple of days after they leave I will leave to go home for my grandfathers memorial service. And I will return back from the US in time to greet our friends the Angermiller’s and their boys!!  We head to the commissary next weekend to prepare.

We are looking forward to Jackson going to preschool 2 mornings a week starting in the Fall (week after next) and maybe a Mommy and Me swim class for Owen and I with friends one morning while Jackson is in school! That mixed in with playdates, trips to the park and lots of guests coming in and out is setting us up for a busy Fall!

That’s about it from here. I hope that no matter what you are going through you can find some joy in the simple things today!

Well, it’s that time again. It feels like just yesterday it was May and I was saying that we had the summer to enjoy before the bid list came out. It’s out. It came out yesterday.  We are still enjoying summer but August is definitely here and for this it marks another season of big decisions.Yesterday happened to be Swiss National Day so as Seth opened the list and we began to browse we heard major firework action outside of our house, which only added some edge to the already high blood pressure!

I have two emotions during bidding time that basically fight each other the entire time.  I feel excitement about all of the possibilities and I feel completely overwhelmed to make the best decision for our family…every single family member. The task is daunting. I know some couples whose spouse  does the bidding and lets them know where they will be headed. For us it is a family decision. Each post has their own set time to start positions, Seth has different trainings to complete and we have family factors like Jackson’s school and my sanity! Ha!

I feel a bit like our family is a muscle that has been overstretched. (this image is particularly powerful after doing Jillian Michael’s shred and feeling sore while sitting to type) Initially our experiences really strengthened us and stretched us in a healthy way beyond our comfort zones but I think we may be coming on a time where we need to give this muscle some rest and be closer to home for a season.  Anything could happen, we are still looking into some overseas possibilities that might be beneficial long term. The pro and con list just seems to complicate things because we can see both sides. But, we are really digging deep and looking at the big pictures.

Kuddos to all of you Foreign Service wives out there that have done this tour after tour! And to those that have survived their first pack out and big move.  I recently read a blog of a girl who described her most stressful month of her nearly 10 yr marriage. Ladies, her most stressful month summed up a day as a foreign service wife planning an international move, packing out, transitioning kids and settling in for the umpteenth time.  I am not saying it wasn’t stressful for the blogger,  I am saying we need to give ourselves a hand for tackling the stresses that some days have started to seem routine!

some Alpine dandelions to ease the blow of bidding!