There's No Real Goodbye When you Mean it

Done; my time here in Germany is slowly winding down. I've been looking for the words to summarize it up for you all because I know you care so, so much.


But I don't have any words. Really, it was an amazing time and blah, blah, blah, life changing experiences and what not, blah blah. Insert a few broad statements about my internal transformation and ta-da! I'd have a sugary sweet post for you all. And I'd totally understand when you ran from the room sick to your stomach.

Because it was all lollipops and gumdrops. Hah!

Honestly, like, I'm giving it to you straight right now. There was a lot of crap. Oh, I'm sorry. Did you think I meant that metaphorically? No, no no no no nooo... Honestly, there was a lot of crap. In its most physical form. And I learned that many children use their feces as a type of, shall we say, biological warfare when they have trouble expressing themselves.

So that was great!

By the end of the last day, I was silently urging parents to drive faster, faster, faster. Please, people, I just need, like, forty seconds to myself. Grab your kids and run! I still stand behind my opinion that we should turn off the coffee machine after the kids pick-up time is passed. The information paper say that you can grab your kid from ten in the morning until noon. That does not mean you can sit and drink coffee until one thirty while we scurry about cleaning. News flash: We have homes, too.

Now that I've fully convinced you that last few camps were a disaster, please allow me to completely contradict myself: I didn't want to leave. 

Because stuff like this happens.

When I got there, that was my key for pick-up, all dolled up with a sticky note and a little flower.

Any other time I could just stroll into the office, shove my key into my pocket, and walk on my merry way, but not here. I left the note on my key the entire camp. It was very sweet of them. And that's the way this entire summer has been, small and thoughtful moments that just made me happy.

Saying goodbye was hard. Not only because expressing myself in another language is still a sticking point, but I'm not quite sure how I feel about myself and my summer yet. Just sort of inwardly content right now.

I've already started to forget the crap...'Started'. And there's the emphasis. Because I think the world is sort of full of crap. What am I saying? The world is full of crap, metaphorical and physical, but the best parts are still there.

Whoohoo! There you have it. Nicely packed in a quaint little bow.