Nine Years….

It was our dream for a long time to live in the United States. We played the Green Card Lottery for several years, not really knowing what we were getting into. When I finally won I couldn’t believe it. The envelope I picked out of the mail box on that hot summer day was plain, white and unremarkable. I thought it was a hoax – one of those letters you get that are luring you with promises or fish for your money – but the letter was real. We decided to go for it. We always wanted to move to the USA and live here. And so we did.

The last nine years were full of first times, last times, hellos, good-byes, and lots of change. We learnt new things and created new family traditions, like our pizza night on Fridays or watching the 4th of July Fireworks. We kept old habits we brought “over” alive as valuable traditions, like celebrating on Christmas Eve with Raclette or baking German Cheesecake for birthdays, although it is very hard to get a hold of quark (an important ingredient for the German Cheesecake) 🙂

Carrying our eight suitcases and three backpacks we stumbled into our personal adventure – a time of excitement and uncertainty.

We hadn’t even seen the place we rented to stay for the first couple of weeks after we arrived in America.
We knew nothing – not how to buy a car, not how the top loader washing machine worked or the American school system – to name just a few things. It was a time of learning and relearning, exploring and discovering. A time full of firsts, like the first night in our apartment at Carlsbad Circle, the first time at the DMW or other administration offices, the first time at Martin’s new job, Sarah’s first school day at Ranch View Elementary School or my first time at my Aquacise class at the Y where I made many friends.

This new adventure was exciting, but most days we were terrified of the most simple things such as using the phone. Would they understand us?
Doubting ourselves didn’t help, we needed to make phone calls to set up utility accounts, gather information, socialize and make friends. We needed to study for the test to get an Illinois driver’s license, we needed to open bank accounts, find doctors, check in at the local library… and all those things that knit together our daily lives… And we did.

It was scary and wonderful – all at the same time.

Fortunately, our path was plastered with God’s miracles before we even got on that plane back then, on the 21st of September. His miracles and guidance carried us through the first days, weeks and months, and gave us confidence to go on and believe that we would make it. And we did.
We found great new friends, places where we belonged and a new home.

Moving to another country was one of the best decisions of our lives. This “looking over the rim of our plates” has changed each one of us all profoundly.

Our daughter changed from a shy ten year old who couldn’t speak any English to a strong, beautiful and fluently bilingual young woman who looks confidently into her future, figuring out her own way.

My husband has changed, too. He loves his job and the diverse people he works with.
Just the other day he told me how he was terrified to talk over the phone in the beginning, but now he is on the phone almost all day long, building his team, encouraging and challenging his co-workers, even interviewing new employees. Who would have thought?
He also loves biking and the outdoors – things that often fell short in Germany.
Not many of our German friends would have bet on him “making” the move. But he did.

I love all the new opportunities I have been able to explore and that I learnt so many new things. Writing and publishing books, creating design projects like coffee table books, pursuing photography on a professional level were always dreams of mine, but I wasn’t sure I could do it. Now I do.
I never imagined to be a board member of the Rhea of Hope Foundation, an non-profit organization that supports girls, adolescents and young women, and I am honored to volunteer for this wonderful organization for several years.
I love to take pictures of all the beauty around me, no matter if in Illinois or now in beautiful Colorado.

Yes, we all have changed, developed and become more resilient. In fact, we changed so much that when we moved to Colorado last year, we drove the 1,000 miles across the country with a fully loaded car, without even having organized a place to stay beforehand. We started searching for an apartment after we arrived in Fort Collins, on August, 16th 2019. Two days later Sarah moved into her college dorm, and three days later Martin started his new job. We rented an apartment on August 20th and moved in a day later. Only a week after that, my husband and I held our brand new Colorado Driver’s license in our hands. We sold our house in Naperville, Illinois and moved into our new home in Parker, Colorado within five months. It was a wild ride.
We always wanted to live in Colorado, our dream state. Now we do.

Time flies… Nine years, and what an amazing journey.

Until next time – Live Inspired!