Dane has had a spectacular couple of weeks. The new school year finally started, Germany rotates summer vacation start times so that not all their states, not all their people, are on vacation at once. We live in Baden Württemberg and we are the last state to get vacation. Our first day of summer vacation was July 29 this year!

Six weeks later, school started back up. On a Wednesday, a perfect way to ease back into school. On Friday Dane broke out in chicken pox. One last souvenir from the states. I shouldn’t have been surprised, Tess had popped up with chicken pox earlier in the week, and yet I was. My kids were immunized. Two shots a piece. And yet, here we were. Kids with chicken pox in the states and in Germany.

I called the school. I visited the doctor. I filled out paperwork. Chicken pox is a required report here, interestingly enough by me. Not the doctor. I spent a little time on the phone with the local government official and sent over their immunization records. After that, it was just battling the itchies.

Luckily Dane had a very mild case. I’m assuming it was due to the immunizations, though Tess had a pretty invasive case of the chicken pox in the states. Her poor body was covered in itchy bumps. It turns out baby diaper cream (ie. Desitin) works better than calamine to help with the discomfort. Who knew? Tess knows!

Dane stopped breaking out in bumps about two days faster than Tess. Thank God! Not because he was the one I had at home, but because he had an appointment at the orthodontist. I needed him to be non-contagious so we could get those braces on.

Early yesterday we hopped in the van. Me bobbleheading from lack of sleep, Dane a nervous bundle of questions:

“Will it hurt? How much will it hurt? How long will it take? What can I eat? When can I eat? I’m hungry.” Sigh. The teen years are rapidly approaching over here. He’s hitting that must-eat-all-the-things phase. I’ve been so happy since Cole left. All my snacks are still where I left them when I want them. I can see this changing any day now.

We got to the ortho office first thing. Technically they were closed, they are moving to a bigger space, but they had squeezed Dane in after I rescheduled for our unexpected visit to the states, for Papa’s funeral. Dane wriggled and worried in the seat next to me till it was finally time… all of 3 minutes later.

Once in The Chair, he sat perfectly still. He could’ve been a gargoyle during the day, he sat so still. The time flew by & next thing you know I had a brandnew boy, with a brandnew look, sitting next to me in the van on the way home.

“I’m hungry. When can I eat?”

Before

During

After