Laurel Elisabeth Stevens

It isn’t just the dog who needs to get used to her owners. A crate provides protection for both the dog and the house. Chocolate labs are beautiful.  Ours has a graceful, lilting walk that deserves a stare. A 9 year-old daughter who will pick up dog poop without complaining will be a good dog-owner. Boys learn the firm, commanding tone of voice very early. Dogs can’t climb out of pools without the steps, or without someone pulling them out. Vacuuming and mopping can be extra satisfying after owning a dog for five days. We will spend a lot of money at the pet store. A plastic bag with a hole in it is a whole lot worse than no bag at all.  Typically-walk-averse children don’t complain about the length of the walk when going with a dog.  A thunderstorm can be exhausting.  Kong Frisbees don’t float.  Swimming with a dog can make kids forget that the water is only 64 degrees Fahrenheit.  But you must learn to stay away from her claws.  Goo...

Dear Mom and Dad, A week and two days ago the packers came to your house in Houston.  All your piles of belongings, sorted for “air,” “sea,” or “storage” were boxed up and labeled.  And tonight you will spend your third night in your new home in London.   Your two-day stay with us was wonderful.  I didn’t think about you leaving.  I just enjoyed having you here. As I mentally prepared for your move, I keep thinking about my last sight of you as you left for Vietnam in 2003.  I was seven months pregnant, wondering how you could leave me as my hour of need approached.  But really I knew why.  You went with your husband.  You belonged to each other and I, for nearly three years at that point, belonged to another.  And it was good.   Of course, you could hardly stand not being there when Elisabeth was born.  We called you on the phone somehow, and Dad, newly christened “Grandpère” jumped out of bed in his excitemen...

This Sunday in The Woodlands The weather got a little cooler here in the Houston area . . .for a couple of days.  It was already warming back to the 80s today.  But on Sunday we got to wear sweaters and realize that no, we won’t be able to wear sandals all year long. At church I spoke with a friend who was asking how our transition was going, saying that he felt for us, having to leave Germany after just two years.  It nearly made me cry, but at the same time I was grateful for his understanding.  He knows from personal experience the work it takes to move and adjust overseas.   I’ve been looking over my notes and writings from the last two Octobers and Novembers.  Wow--the seasons are really different!  It does feel like continual summer here and, well, I’m not minding it.  Not right now, at least! The entry below was mostly written on a Sunday in November, 2011, when John was in the U.S. for about two weeks.  It was ...

Before we left Hannover she said, “And you really must keep up your blog.  I want to read about your readjustment.  If you don’t write it down right away, you will get used to things, and then forget how it felt to arrive.” Hauling the load from the grocery store She was right.  There were always excuses to not write things down.  First, we didn’t have a computer.  Then we were busy, flying to California, and then New York.  Then when I did try to write, I got so sad, thinking about our last week in Hannover, full of visits to friends’ homes, the kids romping outside with their buddies, parents eating, drinking and laughing together.  I didn’t know it would be this sweet. I remember thinking, as we were preparing to go to Germany, “What am I going to do there?  I don’t ‘love’ Germany.”  I loved the idea of castles and peasants and medieval times, travel, green countryside and snowy mountains, Bach, Beethoven and Mozart.  Ap...

Tomorrow will be the 2 week mark of our re-entry to the U.S.   I would like to be writing more, but in the meantime, here are just a few of my re-entry quandaries: Even the laundry detergent is proud to be American.  I'm finally used to identifying myself when I answer the phone, the German way, but when I answer the phone here as "Stevens" or "This is Laurel" there is always a long pause while the caller orients himself.  Much like I was orienting myself over the last 2 years. I tend to yield to traffic coming from the right. I have at least once opened the freezer door to cool myself off. I crave recycling. When the kids tasted the tap water (Leitungswasser) in the apartment they both exclaimed, "Cool!  The water is sweet!"  Um, glad you think so, kids.  Tastes rather minerally (or worse) to me. I found it is easier to speak German than Pig Latin. I get nervous at restaurants, afraid that they'll bring the check too early and ruin t...