I'm beginning to belive that my life is bound to move in cycles, beginning in the spring. For most of my adult life, the end of winter has always seen me making or planning for major changes - scheduling classes for the next semester, getting married, buying houses, moving, getting unexpectedly pregnant, etc. When last spring I discovered myself newly pregnant and preparing to relocate to Wisconsin, it should have solidified that trend in my head and given me a clue that I should just expect the unexpected every year when the weather starts to change.

Even thusly prepared, I was still taken aback when I heard myself saying, "Okay, let's go for it!" last night on the phone with Eric. We've been talking about it for a few months, but yesterday everything came together and it came down to "do or die" for the situation. We're choosing "do."

This year will see our biggest change yet: Eric's taking a temporary assignment within his company that will have us moving somewhat further than Wisconsin. Auf Wiedersehen, everybody; Guten Tag, Stuttgart, Germany.

Now, don't panic! (As though I'm not.) Like I said, it's a temporary relocation. The project on which Eric will be working should last somewhere between eighteen months and three years, depending on how successful they are with implementation of the new systems. Anybody who's been reading this journal for more than, say, a couple of weeks knows just how unhappy we've been here and with our current situation. Moving to Stuttgart (well, Filderstadt-Bonlanden, to be precise) will mean a nice chunk of change and great job experience for Eric, which will vastly improve life for us in the long run. We're not exactly driving distance for our families as it is, so if we'll have to fly anyway, being further away won't change visits much.

Beyond Eric's job, this chance has a lot of other plusses going for it. To live in Europe! I've never even been out of this country except for a day when I was in Canada as a child visiting Niagara Falls. I'll have to learn German, of course, and beyond what's involved in contemporary German opera; just writing the name of our new hometown required three corrections for me. The boys will be immersed in German culture, which can only be good for their growth. The schools around the facility are top-notch; the housing information we've been given have me drooling.

I'm so excited about this! Things have to move fast, though; the project is being launched at the start of May. I don't yet know what we're doing about our house, but Eric assures me that there are procedures in place for situations like this. (Some of his other coworkers are being sent off to work on the other new project launch - out of Korea! Now, that would have been fun!) We'll need to have things in place to be there a week before, so...ack! If we need to, Eric will go on ahead, and I'll wrap things up here and follow behind.

Wow. Just...wow. Can you believe this? I know I can't!