When J and Big Became Illegal European Aliens

After the horrific experience dropping the van off to be shipped to Germany, we were done with the errands and check lists for the military. In our real life ( not the one quickly becoming  dominated by the To Do lists from the Military, but our other- real- life), our house closing was delayed by the buyers and it was now set to close after we left the country, meaning we needed to give my dad Power of Attorney. We also decided to give each other Power of Attorney since my sister, a military wife, explained how a spouse could often get nothing done on base without the sponsor (the military or DOD person) actually present. Without my power of attorney, J couldn't open a checking account, start our utilities, etc. I'm not saying that kind of control wasn't appealing, I'm just saying that I enjoy hot showers more and would really like him to be able to get some of these things done without me. So, a quick trip to my dad's office later, we had three power of attorney papers, an updated will and a current living will. Having a lawyer as a dad pays off every now and then.

Pop and Big working hard at LEGOS *Mary Colleen Photography*

The last few days before we left were filled with snowstorms, cozy fires, friends and family. We tried to fit in everyone we could to actually see and hug them in person, but there just wasn't enough time for everything. We had to finally just be honest with people and explain that the little time we had left, we needed to spend with our family.

Our "big" snowstorm 

I have been mostly home with they boys since Big was born ( I say mostly because I did nursing school and 6 years as a nurse during that time- you know, those small things ) and I was very cognisant of the fact that in just a few days, I would be going to work full time. I have so loved my open ended time with them and I will dearly miss it. I set our schedule, could do things on our timetable, travel when I wanted to, rest when we needed it and dictated the pace and intensity of their lives because I was the master of my own time. Looming up in front of me was the realization that this was no more. I was going to be bound by the time constraints of my full time working hours. Granted, one of the benefits of being a nurse was that full time only took three of our seven days together, but it was still a big change for them and me. I didn't want those last few days to be crazy or stressful. I wanted to savor them and drink the freedom and their sweet faces in.  I also wanted to have calm, easy time with my parents. Nene and Pop are an everyday part of my kids lives. We stop by to say hello, to play in the backyard, to eat snacks, take naps, and everything in between. Pop and J built the kids a treehouse in Nene and Pop's backyard and it's a thing of beauty. Middle and Pop like to poke around in the yard, dig holes, move rocks and putter like little old men. Little and Nene are expert cooks and have long conversations about the awesomeness of trains over laundry and dusting. Big loves to set up massive army guy battles on the stairs of Nene's house and the battles are so intense, they often need to be left up for days. Nene dutifuly steps over them until their ten-year-old general is ready for action again. Needless to say, their relationship is precious and close and this move would disrupt everything about it, I wanted the last days together to be filled with happy.

*Mary Colleen Photography*

Our goodbyes at the airport were tearful and hard, but we were all very brave. We successfully made it through security and to our gate, where we settled in with various electronic devices to recover from the tears of leaving. Our dog Polo was flying with us on the plane because of a whole other layer of crazy. In order to get pets overseas, each country has their own set of rules and standards that must be met. Often they have long and arduous quarantines the pets have to endure. Germany requires that the animal be chipped with an international microchip, re-rabies vaccinated post chipping, a local vet verify that the animal is in good health, and then have a USDA vet review the case and notarize the paperwork within 10 days of travel. Our vet, Erin Brown at The Pet Hospital of Madison, was beyond amazing helping us through this process. Shipping the dog was complicated. He is a big guy, about 65 lbs, thus him and his crate were too large to ship under the regular plane. The only way to send him was in a giant cargo plane out of Atlanta ( and ya'll know how great it was there for me and the van) and would cost anywhere from $2,000- 4,000. It was often not pressurized or temp controlled. Polo is about 13 years old, takes tons of meds for his arthritis and is basically a nintey year old geezer. There was no way that dog would have survived the flight. We would have opened that crate and had a dead dog. The only other option was to bring him with us on the actual plane and I'm happy to explain the process in a detailed email if anyone should ever need to do it. It did, however, mean that we had three children and a dog on these flights and in the airport.

Our whole crew before take off

We had a short, one hour flight to Charlotte, and then a three hour layover before we boarded the flight to Frankfurt. In the interum, we changed into pajamas and brushed our teeth. Polo did great the whole time, he was starting to hurt from all the walking and cramped spaces and basically wanted to lay down and sleep the whole time. On the plane, the boys were enthralled with the individual video screens in each headrest and the fact that you got to eat dinner and breakfast ON THE PLANE!! The novelty of it all kept them entertained until after dinner was cleaned up and the lights dimmed. Then all three promptly fell asleep and slept the entire flight. J and I weren't able to sleep because of how Big, Middle, and Little were laying ( not to mention our dog Polo laying at our feet for eight hours), but we were happy that they were resting and content and we watched movies and dozed.

Fun on the plane

After we landed, we steeled ourselves for the long Customs process and the even longer pet registration process we had heard horror stories about. We were exhausted and crabby and we were not looking forward to it. We made a quick (HAHAHAHAH. Nothing we do is quick. Sigh.) restroom stop before Customs, and ended up being the only ones there by the time we finally made our way down the long, intimidating hallway. There was a pre-screening station there and they briefly looked at my orders and our passports and sent us down the hall to Customs. Where no one was. Literally. we called and rang bells and were told by an irritated German employee to go on through. With the dog. With the kids. With no passport stamps. We thought this was odd, but were giddy thinking that perhaps we had been misinformed about how hard Customs and animal registration was, maybe the pre-screening was actually Customs and we just didn't realize it. So into Germany we walked with our crew and our stampless passports. Until the next day when signing into the base. Where we were told that J and P had basically been illegially in Europe since we landed and it was a good thing we had never been pulled over because they would have totally deported them. I was safe becasue my military i.d. serves as a visa here and Little and Middle were under ten and my dependants, so they were safe as well. One phone call and I could have had J deported AND he needs me to turn on the lights, oh how absolute power corrupts!