nicht so einfach
We boarded a plane to Germany 6 weeks ago today. I had every intention of documenting our journey overseas, our first few weeks and the time spent settling in to our new apartment but sometimes things are “nicht so einfach”.
Nicht so einfach (not so easy) is a phrase we have come to know well in our brief time in Germany. The flight over with three kids did not leave much room for flowing thoughts and our first two and a half weeks were chaotic living out of a hotel. McCadden started school and I finally felt like I had the mental space to write just as Hurricane Ida was hitting Louisiana.
It seemed silly to complain about our crammed hotel rooms while so many of our friends and family were displaced and without power after the storm. I didn’t want to ramble on about the lack of US comfort food selections at the grocery while my friends and family were seeing empty shelves as they returned to New Orleans. We watched and felt helpless. New Orleans is our home and we felt the magnitude of our distance as we watched the city recover wishing we could be there.
I felt stuck. I still feel a little stuck. The four weeks since the storm have been filled with Judy: filling out insurance information, managing our inventory and doing what I can from afar to get things back to normal. I am incredibly lucky to have a group of women who keep Judy going. I am forever indebted to them for the effort and heart they put in to the store on and off the clock. I would not be able to have and give this experience to my family without these women.
It feels like Judy never really had a chance to get in to a rhythm after we took over in 2019. We had six beautiful months before the pandemic and while we have managed 18 months through the pandemic it was certainly nicht so einfach. Living in Louisiana for most of my life has taught me that we pick up the pieces. We find support and inspiration in the midst of the chaos. We rebuild and we find rhythm.
I don’t have a specific goal or rhythm for writing these posts but hope it comes naturally. I do know that I want to leave a digital diary for our children to remember this time. It’s also for me. I want to find inspiration for Judy, to connect with our family and friends and to remind myself that I can do things that are nicht so einfach.
Quin and I talked about writing letters to ourselves last night as a check in point. Maybe this is it? Maybe there’s more?
In the meantime, this is a weird and beautiful place and there is a lot to share.
Tschüss,
Martha Claire
