One Month Later / Einen Monat Später

Nikolas spent most of today sick with a fever, lying on the couch. When we thought he was better around midday, he had another setback, but after a long nap for much of the afternoon, he seems to have shaken this bug.

"I'm all better," he declared shortly before dinner time. Then it was as though he had to make up for all the hours of sickly silence, and he babbled non-stop until he fell asleep for the night.

At dinner, he became philosophical, sharing his three-year-old views of the world on such various topics as the 'schönes Essen' (delicious meal), various bodily noises and functions (that won't be discussed here), and race cars. And then he got serious.

"We moved to Salzburg," he said. "It's sometimes hard to move to a new place. Because everything is new. And different. But it's a 'schöner Tag (lovely day).'" He looked out the window toward the Gaisberg. "It's a really 'schöner Tag.'"

Weatherwise, it wasn't really a 'schöner Tag.' It's been grey and moist (some rain, but mostly just cloudy) and chilly for about a week now, weather you'd expect in late October, perhaps. But I suppose after a day on the couch, when you're feeling better, and after a month of settling in and getting your bearings, things might feel like a 'schöner Tag.'

It amazes me that we've been here for a month already. Where has the time gone? It has been so fast, with the ups and downs that you might expect that come with moving to a new place where everything is new and everything is different. But, it's really started to feel like home now, and with Peter's students arriving in the coming week and the university finally starting up at the end of week after, we should find ourselves falling into a routine which will make things feel even more normal.

It has been a tremendous month. I love living in Europe. I love the history and the traditions and the fact that there are buildings all around that have been standing since the 1300s and that people wear trachten (traditional clothing) not just as costumes but because that's what they do. I love living on the edge of a small city where there is nearly always something going on, and even if there's not, there's plenty to see and do. I am afraid that our time here will go too fast!

Despite everything I love, 'real life' is not the same as the weird and sometimes warped life we know in New Jersey. For those of you at Pennington, you know what I mean. We miss those days where you get up and get ready for the day and then head off to the dining hall for breakfast. There you meet up with The Breakfast Club, and perhaps a few imposters who sit with you but better not take The Seats where you're used to sitting every day. And after 14 trips to the food line because Nikolas keeps eying Annie's breakfast which inevitably looks better than what he chose in the first place, you finally get to eat. And after a while, you know you're running late when Lucy and Will come in to take over the table, and you're really late if Kathleen and Thomas come rolling in on their Heelys.

On the way back to the car (no walking Nikolas to school in NJ), you run into half a dozen people and share a joke or two or commiserate on the fact that there was no heat even though it dipped down to 39 degrees over night or get filled in on the latest bit of gossip that is bound to change the world - all that in a two minute walk. The day continues on like that, where work and home overlap all the time. Lunch may be with the same people you ate breakfast with, but perhaps not, depending on when lunch squeezes into the schedule, and by mid-afternoon, you're ready to hit the playing fields and watch a few games. More of the laughs and commiserating and gossip until dinner time, where you debate whether you've had enough people time or if you'd prefer a family dinner in the far corner of the dining hall (because why stay home and cook when you can have food you haven't had to think about at all - wow, do I miss that!), but in the end it doesn't matter because inevitably, you're joined by half a dozen other people, some of whom you've spent most of the day with.

Phew. After an evening of knocks on the door (Can I used your dictionary? I'm locked out of my room!) and phone calls (Can I borrow your bottle opener? Are we really running at 6:00? Did you hear the news....?) sometimes you think, "Why do we live this way? Can't we just have a little peace and quiet?" And the following morning, it starts all over again.

It is an absurd way to live. It is an amazing way to live. And it's what we miss the most. For those of you who are part of this reality, thank you. Your role, whatever it may be, in our 'family' is priceless. While we are away, please take care of Pennington and please take care of each other. We hope that you are all still there when we get back.