Terug timer

 

 
You may have wondered, What is this "Terug" timer counting down screen-left? [NOTE: The timer has now been removed as it finished its countdown, but read on for the explanation.] Curious, perhaps you translated--it means "back"--and calculated the end date: 30 June 2018. That was and remains my predicted date of departure for Schiphol, family in tow. Upon arrival the next day, 1 July thus, we will be again formally resident in the Netherlands.

But why? I've had my time living abroad, Talia too. We're deeply enmeshed in our lives in California, and already get to see our Dutch friends here and there, now and then. The prospect of moving into an even smaller house and facing all those stairs.... We don't need this, and we certainly don't need the expense and challenge of transplanting ourselves again. To be clear, we're not unhappy at the prospect, but we're not doing it for us. We're doing it for the kids.

Our boys live in a bubble. Rich, liberal, Marin. They breathe only rarefied air (mostly), eat only organic food. They know the nearby city as a place of playgrounds, museums, and Chinese food. Homeless people are glimpsed through a car window, environmental destruction is a phenomenon no closer than the Amazonian rain forest. They will benefit from variety and challenge, and they're going to get it. This is their year abroad.

And is this really going to happen? There's no reason to think it won't. My company is actively engaged in transferring me, the visa paperwork is all in order, we're well along with Dutch school enrollment (yes, public school, conducted in Dutch--variety and challenge), and hard at work addressing the many, many tasks required to leave our place here in good order. Talia continues to hone her language skills at work, the boys are spending time with Babbel, and my Dutch is about as good (or bad) as it's ever been. Yes, we're well past the imaginary, into the practical, headed, we hope, for the wonderful.