Relationships and family

Raising kids is challenging but in a foreign country, it is even more so. It becomes particularly challenging when you discover that your kids know more than you do about the language and the culture.

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A kindness repaid, 40 years later

After an overnight trip from Spain, I was thrilled to finally arrive at the doorstep....

03
May
Blue and gold Fabergé egg made of metal
Bring out the Easter eggs – the kids are coming home

Just as I was getting used to not being a mother, my COVID-harassed daughters came....

08
Apr
Condiments on a diner table
Home sweet home – only better

I fantasize about taking my kids back to where I grew up to show them....

25
Mar
Photo by Simran Sood on Unsplash - woman with her fce down holding her head in agony
The nightmare of motherhood in Germany

Germany has the reputation of having generous social programs, with vivid descriptions such as "cradle-to-grave"....

19
Feb
Teenage girl looking at camera with chin resting on her hands
The French girl who wouldn’t talk

Language class is where you learn to speak a language, but just memorizing vocabulary and....

27
Aug
Emotional baggage: why I pack too much on trips home

I used to feel sheepish whenever I took an overpacked suitcase home on a trip....

1 Comment

09
Jul
The travails of travel, from Mozart to the moon

I was tempted to feel sorry for myself when my plane was delayed by a....

28
May
Juggling work and family, German minister drops the ball

German minister for the family Anne Spiegel recently resigned after major errors of judgment. Did....

18
Apr
Bring out the Easter eggs – the kids are coming home

Just as I was getting used to not being a mother, my COVID-harassed daughters came....

10
Apr
Can your dog help improve your listening skills? Yip!

What can dogs teach us about communication? Quite a bit....

07
Jan
The Unwilling Stage Assistant

If you raise your kids with humor, funny things can happen....

2 Comments

21
Feb
The Secret Second Life of Balconies

Balconies are great in summer, but they can be useful in winter in surprising ways.....

28
Jan
Young girl waiting for train
Of planes to Spain exploring new terrain

I was thrilled when my daughter decided to study Spanish in Spain for three months,....

13
May
Mitten with snow hanging from pine tree by a clothespin
The ghost hand

What are all of these mittens, socks and scarves doing hanging from bushes, tree branches....

15
Mar
Humboldt University, Berlin
Studying in Germany is nothing like the U.S.

Nothing prepared me for when my daughters set off for German universities. They have little....

02
Oct
Blood moon as seen through tree branches
Looking for the elusive blood moon

Determined to see the Blood Moon, we wandered through the neighborhood to get a better....

1 Comment

03
Aug
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