Monday evening I came home to discover that Oma was here. Oma is HM's mom (Oma means "Grandma" in German). She came down often to help HP with the kids before I was here, but now that I'm here she isn't needed. HD had left that afternoon for his business trip and HM knew I wouldn't be able to work much until my parents left, so she called Oma. I chatted with the two of them for a bit and then I drove out to Ansbach to see Adam and Eddie. Adam was leaving the next day for a three week vacation, so I wanted to say goodbye before he left. We met at a Mexican restaurant and enjoyed some food, drinks, and conversation.
Tuesday was so very busy but so very good. In the morning I drove with HM to drop One off at Kindergarten. Two was also with us, but we didn't leave him there. Instead, the three of us went to Two's doctor. He was still sick and had another checkup appointment. We finished with the doctor quicker than I expected. I dropped HM off at work and brought Two back home with me. I left Two with Oma. It was interesting because Two started whining and crying when I went to leave him with her. It was a heart warming to see that he would have rather stayed with me. I then went and picked up my mom. The two of us went grocery shopping for the big feast later that evening. We ended up going to four different stores to get what we needed. I dropped her and the groceries off at the neighbors. The two of us had lunch and then I had to continue working a little. When Two was awake after his nap, him and I drove to the school to pick up One. The three of us then went and picked up HM from work. I ended up getting a little lost and a seven minute drive ended up taking about 15. I did eventually figure out where I was and where I needed to go just by sight. I was quite proud of myself. Once back at home, I again went over to the neighbors to help my mom cook. That evening was our big Thanksgiving dinner. I didn't have such a dinner on actual Thanksgiving, as I knew we would have one when my parents came to town. Those in attendance were: myself, my parents, HM, the kids, Oma, M, T, L, and the Martin's (Richard, Gail, and Eddie). We cooked a mostly traditional dinner: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, steamed broccoli, and steamed string beans. There was pumpkin cheesecake for dessert. Everything was perfect and everyone only had good things to say about the food. I think everyone enjoyed themselves and the company. I even made a little toast about how I was thankful for that moment with all of them: my parents, old friends, and new family. I fell asleep with a smile on my face.
Wednesday was my parents last day in Nürnberg. I worked my usual hour in the morning. Oma was still here. I spent a good 30 minutes chatting with her once they were all gone. Eventually I met up with my parents and the three of us made our way into town. They wanted to go to the Nürnberg Trials Memorium/Courtroom 600, which we did. Afterwards we went to lunch at a brewery I walk by every day and had been wanting to try. We all found the food pretty underwhelming. When lunch was over, we spent more time walking around the Christmas markets, though we didn't stay long. We wanted to take the train home, but it ended up being cancelled after it was delayed 15 minutes. Our 20 minute journey home turned into an hour. We caught the tram and bus instead. My parents spent some time packing before the three of us went our for an early dinner in the neighborhood. We then stopped by my house so they could say goodbye to HM and the kids. When we made it back to the neighbors, we spent some time talking with M, T, and L before my parents eventually went to bed. I came home and spent some time relaxing before bed.
Thursday morning at 3:50 I woke up to take my parents to the bus stop. They had to take the bus back to the airport. I was able to come home and sleep another two hours before I had to be up for work. Once the kids and HM were out the door, I spent an hour doing some chores. Instead of going back to sleep, I got ready and made my way into the city. I had a number of errands I needed to run, as I hadn't been able to do any of them the previous eight days when my parents were here. As I was heading home, I ran into Basti on the street. He was on his lunch break. We chatted for a bit before we parted ways, including making tentative plans for the weekend. I stopped and picked up some bread at the organic grocery store in our neighborhood. The manager of the bakery is often the one behind the counter who helps me. Her and I have developed a friendly rapport. She had seen me in the store with my parents the week before, and so she asked me if my parents had been visiting me. When I said yes, she laughed and asked if a tour of the neighborhood grocery store was part of the visit. I got a good laugh from that. I had been needing a haircut for weeks, so I went to the hair salon in our neighborhood to make an appointment. One of the hair dressers was able to cut my hair that day. I made an appointment for an hour later. I finally got the haircut I desperately needed! I was a little nervous beforehand. I was afraid I might not explain well enough what I wanted or that she would just give me a bad cut. I lucked out and neither happened. I'm quite pleased with the outcome. I went to the bank afterwards. By the time I got home from all of this, I only had about an hour until HM got home with the kids. I worked from 5pm until 10pm. HM left shortly after dinner to go to dance class, so I got the kids washed up and put them to bed by myself. It had been a long time since I'd done this, and I was a little off my game time-wise. They didn't get to sleep until than later than I anticipated, but there were only a few tears so I'd consider it more or less a success.
This weekend I'm going to hang out with some friends, many of whom I haven't seen in a couple weeks, so I'm pretty excited about that. I missed them last weekend.
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