Afton---Auf Wiedersehen

"Good bye" translates in German to "auf Wiedersehen," literally more like "until we see again."  Much like "Au Revoir" in French.  Reminds me of the hymn "God Be With You Till We Meet Again."  Our time across the ocean was wondrous, and for now, I have shared these places through my eyes only.   I have always had high hopes that at some point you will again see with new eyes that which we shared in the long ago.  Here's the wind up.

Well, of course, time flies, and eventually it was time to fly ourselves, to leave Germany to start a new life in the States.

It had been quite an ordeal to bring one baby over on the long Atlantic flight, and I was so dreading taking two babies back across the ocean.   Even though I begged, Dad had me convinced he couldn't accompany me on the military flight, as he would be so busy with official matters, whatever.  He sent us two weeks ahead of him, so we could spend time in Illinois with my family.  How thoughtful! (What he neglected to say was that he needed to "officially" go skiing with the guys for two weeks in Austria and Switzerland. A mere oversight, it seems. Which he will need to spend eternity paying for).

So yes, I was anxious about the trip.  Maybe not panic attacks, but definitely nightmares where the plane would go down into the ocean and I would have to try to decide which baby to save (never confronting the reality that I could no more even save myself than eat green eggs and ham.)  I decided the only rational thing was to go the the Dr. and ask for tranquilizers for the journey.  Done.

So the week before we were scheduled to ship out, I decided to try the magic pills and see how many I might need.  Not many, it turned out.  I took one and turned into a raving lunatic.   I could not stop talking, not stop laughing.  Unfortunately, the Bishopric Counselors from Church took the opportunity to stop by that night for some strange reason, and saw me in all my glory.  Thank goodness they were really good friends and we were used to teasing and fooling around.  But this was beyond the pale.  They wouldn't leave, because entertainment was sometimes hard to come by, and I was on a roll.   I knew I was a looney toon and probably scaring you, but couldn't stop myself.  I laughed myself silly.   And it was obvious no one was laughing with me.  They were laughing at me.  Nice to leave with a good impression.

Goofy is not the same as relaxed and calm, so I knew even while I was performing, that this would be my last hurrah. And I would face the flight with no pills.