Family Trifecta...1 family in 3 countries...Missing them

Anzere, Switzerland

In Europe, vacations are a lifestyle.  As a European citizen, you get a minimum of 4 weeks just for working part time at McDonalds.  I mean if you got 40 vacation days a year (8 weeks) plus all holidays,  wouldn't you make it a lifestyle?  This week is what the french call Ski Week, where they take 2 weeks off and, well....Ski.  

So, one of the really cool things that the school our kids attend is they take class ski trips.  Jackson this week is at Anzere, Switzerland with 14 other of his friends.  Now this is monumental as Jackson has never been really "thrilled" about skiing even though he has been
in ski school since he was 5, twice a year in  Crested Butte.  But this year when he heard that his favorite teacher (Chris Chater; a 44 year music teacher at this school) was leading it, he begged to go.  The trip does not come cheap, but if this is the "spark" that will put him on the ski "track" then we were all for it.  So, jackson is out of the country on his expedition, and it is the first time since he was born that I am worried about him.  He has been on week long trips with his school before, and he has great teachers with him.  So why am I so worried?  My wish is that he has an amazing time, that he has a memory that is a good one that will have him wanting more.  That he stays healthy, is able to eat whatever they are serving (as he is a picky eater and has been known to go hungry if he didn't like the food), and stays safe.

Chamonix, France

One of the things we kept telling ourselves, is how can you come to france and not ski the French Alps?  So to check that off the bucket list, we planned to go to Chamonix, France during ski week while Jackson was on his adventure.  This place has been visited by many ASP expat families over the years, a group of ASP men who go every Feb., and recommended as family friendly.  So, I booked the accommodations, which by the way is one of the hardest things to do only because you just don't know where to go, or stay, or how nice the place is.  So what I spend a lot of time (and most expats will agree) is doing research, finding someplace, then going to tripadvisor and other websites to see what others have thought.  What is nice about Chamonix is that you are right on the border of France, Switzerland and Italy.  You see the Famous Mont Blanc (if you ever wondered where your pens were made) and you can ski 5 different mountains.   I why am I so worried about my wife and daughter?  Because I want them to have a great mother/daughter weekend, that the ski resort if all that they want it to be (as I said, have never been ourselves), and that they stay safe and healthy and nothing goes wrong. 

I worry about my family because, well.....I am a problem solver, always have been.  Even as a kid growing up, I had to be a problem solver as I watched my parents fight and figure out how to get them to stop.  I love solving problems so much, that I probably do it too much for everyone.

Houston, TX

So here I am, heading to the U.S. and going to say goodbye to an amazing man (Don Bateman) who with his amazing family, made us feel like a part of their family.  When my in-laws moved to China in 1996, they stepped in and because surrogate parents to us and then when we had kids, they took our kids as their own grandkids.  Not only that, I was blessed to be able to sing with Don on many occasion from big choir, to chamber singers to singing some good ol' quartet songs.  I am worried about singing for the funeral.  I haven't sung in over a year and not with a quartet in 5 years.  I want this last request to be the best, as is deserved for this great man.  I worry that I will forget the words, or notes or plain just blank.  But for now, I will continue to practice to make it great.

As part of my trip, I am doing some more problems solving in the case of finding a house to live in when we return to the states.  Texas is one of the few states that housing hasn't been affected by the recession, so that makes finding one a challenge.  Plus it is a scary proposition to buy a house when I don't have a job.  We are going to do something we didn't do on the first 2 houses we bought, and that solution is to buy a house and live as though we have 1 income, that way when I do get a job, that can just be tucked into the bank.

So as this family is in 3 different countries all at the same time, I will try not to worry to much.  Although, it is in my nature when I am not around.  I will leave it to God to protect my family and watch over them.  I pray that they all have an amazing time, build memories, stay safe and things go all as planned.  We may be in 3 different countries, but we will always be 1family.