Play Date

 Berfore arriving in Germany, my family and I decided that we would not waste our valuable time on stupid things.

 Together, my husband and I made the hard choice and decided we would not spend any of our precious weekends involved in kids sports programs that keep us all so busy in America. There is simply WAY to much to see here and not enough time to see it all to waste an entire Saturday playing six year old soccer. We are taking the gamble that all those soccer and baseball games will still be there a few years from now when we return home. Before you all think I'm a horrible parent, just know that my kids still get to be involved in sporty activities such as tennis, karate and fencing. However, thankfully, these are all weekend friendly sports that don't interfere with my SATURDAYS.  In the Grand Scheme of it all I believe that experiencing the sights and sounds of Europe are well worth the sacrifice.

Any who, today I witnessed the cutest experience that I thought I'd share. On Friday's my son Tommy plays tennis at the local German sports club. Tommy has made a little friend and today was their first play date. Raphael, my son's friend is German, but speaks English well because he has been in an English speaking school in Germany since he was in preschool. This is something that is very important to his parents. Now, after agreeing to the playdate I realized I was being a little exploited by Raphael's mother for being American and English speaking, but hey it could be worse.  I'm just happy my son has a new friend.

So, as Raphael is getting into my huge minivan, especially for European standards, his mother and most others here drive tiny baby cars. My car could literally eat her car for breakfast! The look on Raphael's face was priceless as he is looked into my cavernous vehicle. Then, as we started to drive to my house, my son kindly gave him some headphones so he could watch a movie which of course is the reason why we bought this jewel of a vehicle in the first place. Raphael was in pure heaven! It was beyond his wildest dreams to actually watch a movie while riding in a car. The little sounds he made while he watched G.I. Joe from the backseat of my car was so funny. Little Grunts and squeals of pure joy! It was truly priceless. I guess American children have no clue how good they have it.

Once we got to my house, Raphael sort of looked stunned when he saw my son's room. At first, I thought maybe he was disgusted by the sheer amount of toys Tommy has accumulated. So, we started playing 20 questions and tried to figure out what they wanted to play. First, we suggested Playmobil? No, he did not like Playmobil. Next we suggested Lego's? No, he did not like Lego's. Astronauts? No, he did not like Astronauts. G.I.Joe's? No, he did not like G.I.Joes either. Star Wars? Nope, Raphael didn't even like Star Wars. Hmmm...what now I thought to myself?  So I asked him--Did he want to go home? NOOOOO, he screamed loudly! He definitely didn't want to go home.

Lastly, I mentioned Toy Story, and Raphael's little face lit up and he said,"Well, I do like Toy Story". I asked him if he had seen Toy Story 3? And of course, he had not. Yay! We were in business!

Then I asked the boys if they would like some popcorn and Raphael's little face lit up and he said, "I love popcorn"!!!!! 

This was a very sweet moment. It reminded me of all the blessings of being an American. All the little things we take for granted, without even a moment thinking about it. Yes, they are material things, but they are    All-American material things.  Other cultures in the world simply don't have movies in their cars, Buzz and Woody and microwaveable popcorn at the ready.

As we watch the Middle East struggle through tulmotuous times for the foreseeable future, please count your blessings and realize nobody has it like us!