ON A SHOESTRING!

I recently returned home from a four and a half month stay in Germany, which was arranged by my good friends who live near Munich.  My friend Daniella had lived as a foreign exchange student for a year with my family in the U.S. over 25 years ago, and within the last few years she had often encouraged me to come for a long visit, all expenses paid.  I was never able to do it because I had a commitment to take care of my grandchildren. But times and circumstances do change. Sometimes heartbreak and depression lead to new opportunities and spiritual growth.  And a little humor goes a long way towards the healing.  

Having lived with three children five and under taught me a lot about adapting to change, staying calm when the going gets rough, and seeing the humor in everyday life whenever possible. And oh how kids love to laugh!

One of my favorite examples of that came from Moritz, the five-year old.  He knew that I was staying for a long visit, but he was trying to understand how I got to Germany from the U.S.  As you might guess, he also didn't really have a clue as to where the U.S. was located. When I told him that I came on a plane, which first landed in Iceland before coming to Germany, he took his questions to a different level. He asked, "Lynda, do you have a car?"  When I said "no," he was quite surprised and asked if I had a motorcycle.  Again I said no.  He then thought of things that he and his brother had, and said, "Do you have a bike?"The majority of people in Germany do have a bike.  When the answer was "no" once again, he asked me, "Lynda, do you have a scooter?"  He probably thought that I would say no, and he was right, but he decided to try one more time.  We were giggling along the way.  Question number five from a very special five-year old was, "Lynda, do you have a chair?"  At that I burst out laughing harder than I had in years.  There were no "put downs", as I might have experienced with adults, no judgments, just a lot of laughs and a realization, even as a young kid, that people are very different.  The best part he knew about me was that I loved being with kids, playing with them, and more than anything, reading to them.  Nearly every night I read to him and his younger brother and sister.  We read stories in German and in English and we often laughed heartily. I miss those kids and the special way we related.  I spent those four and a half months pretty much living on a shoestring--walking nearly everywhere, even when I took the train to get a little beyond the town where I was staying.  I walked along forests, villages, cities, mountain passes, and lovely beaches.  I spent very little money, but had "the time of my life."  When I got up in the morning my German family had the dining room table all set for me--complete with wonderful German bread, rolls, marmalade, honey, cheese, and delightfully strong coffee.  I was treated like a truly special person.  My friend called me her "Foreign Exchange Grandma."  I was inspired to write a memoir, and having nearly completed it, I dream of the day I might be able to publish it and share it with others around the globe.  And of course the price must be "on a shoestring" because that's how I spent the last four and a half months.  Whoever coined the phrase, "money isn't everything," was wiser than we might ever have imagined.  I'll never have a lot of money, but I'll have a million memories, and many of them will be about wise young kids!