“It is what it is” is one of Team Thomas’s favorite expressions. It comes out when we are discussing anything that we may not like, may think inconvenient, or deem “unfair.” But we also know we can’t change it, so we may as well acknowledge it and make the best of it. Even, dare I say, learn something from it!! This was one of those weeks.
Todd left on Monday afternoon (Sept 22nd) to do a seminar at Resort Schwielosee, which is about 45 minutes outside of Berlin. Neither one of us was particularly wild about him going for the week, but we also understood it is all part of the package. We tried to keep a stiff upper lip, as they say, and off he went. But then Tuesday arrived. It was COLD and WINDY and WET!! It poured from early morning through the middle of the afternoon! Bryce and Emily tackled their schoolwork and I monitored their progress and the never-ending laundry pile. By early afternoon, schoolwork was complete, laundry was complete and the rains still came down. The children got a bit stir crazy and the walls of the already small apartment seemed to close in further as each moment passed. I tried to come up with some creative options, but I wasn’t particularly creative and the children weren’t particularly eager to let me off the hook! Finally, the rains stopped…just in time for us to make the trek to German class – which, as you might have guessed, was not the break the children were looking for!! And it was still COLD and GLOOMY and DARK! We survived German and managed to get home before it rained on us again…dinner was uneventful and the walls to the apartment, it seemed, had not expanded while we were off trying to speak German!!
Todd and I texted each other late in the evening. It seemed that his program didn’t go a whole lot better than our day! But “It is what it is!” While I couldn’t change the reality, it didn’t mean I couldn’t change MY ATTITUDE about my reality, right??? So I started to think about what I might do to “change things up” for the next day! Immediately, I felt blessed all over again by our decision to homeschool. If nothing else, it can be flexible!! It did get me thinking though…we are here in Germany homeschooling where it is illegal to homeschool! In fact, though there are probably more families like us in this country, we could be the only family in the whole country homeschooling legally!! It made me realize what a privilege it is, but also that it is not easy to do something that no one (at least no one we know) around us is doing. I realized how important our homeschool co-op really is because it provides support, encouragement, and a feeling that we are not alone as we educate our children. Homeschooling is not easy, with its daily ups and downs, and our co-op gives us a sense of common purpose, as well as a place for children and mothers alike to share and refuel! I hadn’t realized just how important that sense of community is. Another lesson learned!!
OK…but there is still tomorrow (Wednesday Sept 24th). What am I going to do to change things up? Here’s what I came up with: We do not live far, it turns out, from where we lived when we were here in 2000. S0, on this new day that brought with it a new attitude and crisp air but bright SUNSHINE, I took Bryce and Emily to their “old stomping grounds”. Bryce was only 2 and Emily only a few months old in 2000, so they had to trust me! As we walked, I told them that we were going to the playground that contained Bryce’s first slide. And it was HUGE! I told them how, because it was Bryce’s first slide, I, of course, had taken LOTS of pictures of him whizzing down it at full speed! We walked and I reminisced…we had one of those strollers for 2 children, a place for Baby Emily to lay and a platform for Big Brother Bryce to stand on in the back (or sit down if he was tired). I would push the stroller and Bryce would either ride or he would hop off and run on his little two-year old legs hither and yon. I told them how we would pass the time walking on these paths…I would be singing to Emily and Bryce would be checking out every rock, leaf, worm, and stick he found interesting (which was most of them!!) It was a difficult stay in Germany last time around, but those walks were the highlight!
So…we made our way to this playground and, to my amazement, when we saw the slide, it was still HUGE! (I thought maybe it would seem tiny because Bryce had grown so much). The children thought so too! They started scampering up the ladder to get to the tower that held the slide’s entrance and I, of course, grabbed my camera. The children spent the better part of an hour racing up to, and sliding down, the slide. As we walked back toward home, we talked about seeing these new pictures side by side with those of Bryce taken 8 years ago!!
In the same park area there is a big pond, with lots of ducks. We decided to walk along the shore (I dubbed it the “coastal route”) to see what we could see. I wished I had brought along some bread to feed them, but alas, I can’t think of everything!!! But God can!! I looked around and saw a plastic bag. When I looked closer there was almost 2 whole slices of bread still in it!! So we were able to spend a few minutes feeding the ducks. What fun!!
After the ducks had their lunch, we made a quick trip to the grocery store for essentials before extracting our clean laundry from the dryer and heading up to the apartment for our lunch. After lunch, we had an exceedingly productive school time before heading to German class!! Imagine that!!
It has turned out to be a fantastic week. Todd returned earlier this evening and Team Thomas strolled down the street to our local (and favorite) Italian restaurant. The owners, two brothers who speak Italian and German, know us well and are always glad to see us. While we waited for our meal, we talked about the things we are looking forward to back in the States and the things that we are going to really going to miss. We realized, the four of us, that life is really about the good and the bad, the ups and the downs, the ebbs and the flows.
“It is [always] what it is” but it is better with a loving family, great friends, new experiences, and memories that will last a lifetime.
Hi Everyone, Seem that on the 25th, Karen made lemonade!! That’s the truth of it – ups and downs and it is what it is. I must say, however, that as a public school teacher, I might call the German police.
Have you been to Oktoberfest? Or is that only for beer drinkers?
Good to read that you are all OK and enriching yourselves with loads of new experiences. Love, Susie
Comment by Susie — September 27, 2008 @ 7:09 am
How funny, that saying is going around. We had a client early this year, who, on-site, continued to bemoan “It is what it is,” regarding the state of the building during the photography shoot. Later, through creativity and the wonder of Photoshop, Gene was able to improve considerably on that status. It has become our motto, jokingly, for the plethra of uncontrollable circumstances we run into. And as you say, “it is was it is” is not always what it must be!
Comment by Maureen Meadows — September 28, 2008 @ 4:43 pm