August 23rd, 2015
When E was learning to speak, Terri (my dear friend and old roommate) introduced herself to him as “Favorite.” I believe she would point at herself, slowly pronounce the word and reward him with cookies when he called her by her self-declared name. It wasn’t until years later that he learned she also happens to go by the name, Terri.
Terri was staying with us at the time and offered to babysit E while we enjoyed an overnight away for our 11th Anniversary. What a gift! Here’s a picture I took of E with his Favorite a few days later.
Fast Forward to the Present…
This past Winter and Spring, Terri was looking for teaching jobs overseas. We tried to get her here to Germany. Sadly, even with our best efforts, there simply wasn’t a position available. Eventually, Terri accepted a teaching job in Africa for the next two years. Though we would LOVE to have her here, at least Germany has the potential to be an extended layover. That potential became a reality at the end of July when Terri arranged to spend a week with us in route to her new job. Yippee!!
On Saturday morning, July 30th, I picked Terri up from the airport.
It was another one of those surreal moments to see her walking over to me…here in GERMANY…because I LIVE here. The incredible side of this adventure hits me at the most random times! We were adding another chapter to the story of our friendship that started almost twenty years ago. Awesome!
I was worried I wouldn’t be the best host going into our third week of having guests stay with us. However, as we caught up in the car on the drive home, my concerns quickly dissipated. Having this beloved friend with us, who knows me so well and loves my family with a sincere love, was rejuvenating in the best ways.
Here’s a glance at our week with Favorite…
She tagged along with us to the boys’ first dentist appointments on Tuesday. We found a FANTASTIC dentist thanks to the recommendation of my soccer friend, Amy. Their dentist introduced herself as their “Teeth Counter.” E loves this name and now corrects me if I call her a dentist. She is Puerto Rican, likes to speak Spanglish to the boys and is super fun! She also has a wonderful staff. What a FIND! I’m so happy with her and super excited to have this need checked off the list. If you look closely at the picture of S below, you’ll notice the dental hygienist shooting water into his mouth from a distance. They were playing a game to see how far back she could go with the sprayer!
Afterwards, we took Terri to explore a castle ruin. Oh wait…we didn’t just explore. Favorite and the boys STORMED the castle! I can see why they love her so!
Terri said they were rescuing the princess (their Mama)! Mission accomplished. Love my boys!
Now time to explore!
Coming to Germany was like coming “home” for Terri in many ways. She lived here with her family when she was in High School and still has many fond memories. One of them was the ice cream and the creative ways it can be served. We found an ice cream parlor downtown that served us Spaghetti Eis…ice cream that resembled noodles with tomato (strawberry) sauce and parmesan cheese (coconut shavings)!
On another afternoon, we walked along the Life Path with Favorite to the labyrinth and the Community Table. Terri managed to distract E from the work of pushing his bike uphill by telling him a story she made up on the fly. We were at the top before we knew it!
Oh the gift of traveling through life with good friends!
Terri translated the sign at the Community Table for me. After hearing the translation, I love it even MORE! You can see the sign above and read the translation below.
Together
-old and young
-to eat and drink
-laugh and sing
-talk and be silent
-Strangers and Friends
For where two or three
are gathered in my name,
I am there among them.
Matthew 18:20
We passed fields of wheat along our walk with strange indentations. Favorite shared her theory that alien ships had landed. Perhaps that’s what inspired E to dress up as an astronaut the following morning. He captured the alien cat!
On Friday, we ventured to the Dino Park with our Favorite. The boys had a marvelous time playing with Terri! She could be found inside the “onion” with them, climbing ropes, enjoying the water toys, having her alignment tweaked in crazy slides or fighting off the dinosaurs. This girl PLAYS like no other!
Are you in there Favorite?
That evening, she gave Mein Mann and I the incredible gift of a DATE NIGHT! It was so good to reconnect, just the two of us, after three weeks of traveling, a week of getting over jet lag and preparing for guests and then three weeks of hosting guests. We relished the time together! We ate dinner in the beer garden of a lovely Italian place, enjoyed ice cream at our favorite coffee-house, walked to the bakery on the other side of the train tracks for coffee and then took the long way home. What a treat to do all of this on foot! One of the gifts of village life.
When we came home, we found Favorite reading to the boys in their room. I think they relished their time too!
With our last couple of days together, we took a day trip to Koblenz and enjoyed a Culinary Hike. There are way to many pictures to add those experiences here. I’ll catch up on them in the next couple of posts.
We wrapped up our week celebrating Terri’s Birthday with cake, candles, a family serenade and presents wrapped in our grocery shopping bags!
Terri’s visit was an incredible gift to all of us. How grateful we are for the time we had together and her continual friendship that spans decades and now continents. We love you Favorite!
