Dallin spent a week in Hungary so it was just me and Teddy and the dog(s)--Milly stayed with another friend for a few days so I just had one dog for most of the time, which was helpful with my first solo-parenting venture. When I was out attempting to walk and occasionally jog with the baby and both dogs, I felt a little bit like performing an act in the circus and resisted the urge to yell at passersby “throw me another!” to see if I could manage a second baby or third dog in the chaos called “afternoon walk.”
Before Dallin left for Hungary, we finished the final season of The Office. I know I’m a decade late to the party, but I had only seen the first few seasons up until this point. I was not emotionally prepared for how that final Pam and Jim arc would wreck me–when Jim is starting this business in Philadelphia and Pam is doing this one-woman show taking care of the family and still working in Scranton and doesn’t want to move and so then Jim returns to Scranton full time and she feels guilty for him giving up his dreams for her but Jim tells her she is everything to him? Yeah, oof. Wept like a child and I am tearing up writing about it right now.
Also before Dallin left: For all the traveling and all the running I’ve done, somehow I’ve never managed to run a race in another country. Fortunately I got the chance to cross that off my bucket list because the Free University held a campus run as part of their Sommerfest. I picked the 5k option and ran it in 24:13, coming in 10th out of 200 women, so I was pretty happy about that. The race was also really well done—live music at the start/finish, lots of cute, encouraging signs along the way, a disco party in one of the tunnels near the end…it was super fun! My only complaint is that it was pretty hot (the race started at 5:15pm), but that part made me feel a little bit like I was back in high school cross country. Dallin and Teddy were troopers and came to support me even though it meant Teddy didn’t get to bed until 7pm (bless his little early-sleeper heart).
We had some very hot days in Berlin, but fortunately the humidity was low so it didn’t feel as oppressive as the Bloomington summers I’ve grown accustomed to. Honestly, getting out of Bloomington for June and July was a big reason for coming to Germany. However in Bloomington we have the bonus of air conditioning whereas everywhere in Europe still lives under the impression that it’s better for your health to not have AC in your home (though many businesses and hotels have AC and all trains and hospitals…so it is possible). I thought about going back to the pool in our neighborhood on one of those really hot days, but when we walked by it was crazy packed and I wasn’t sure I was mentally capable of handling that many people by myself. So I gave Teddy a cool bath and he still had a good time.
I celebrated the longest day of the year sans Dallin. The official sunset was 9:33pm with a sunrise at 4:43, though it starts getting light around 4am and isn’t really dark until after 10pm. So even for the mornings when I get up around 5am or 6am, the sun has already had time to get up pretty high in the sky. I think sometimes we forget how far north most of Europe is (Italy is at about the same latitude as New York).
I got it in my head that having Dallin in Hungary was the perfect time for me to visit my friend Selina in Leipzig. So I did not only my first solo-parenting week at home, but I also squeezed in that little trip. Somehow I schlepped us all there without many issues (or really any issues? Thankfully one of the least eventful train rides so far). Teddy started getting his two front teeth over the weekend (!) and he was a little fussier than normal, but I finally scored seats in the Kleinkinderbereich, which I’ve seen every time we’ve been in a train and openly coveted because it’s a private space with its own door and has lots of cute kid-friendly things. Apparently this got me an “in” with the other parents too because these were the first trips where I’ve had very long conversations with other travelers. Teddy made another small friend on the train ride to Leipzig. His new friend generously shared his trains with Teddy (Teddy found it much more fun to chew on said trains than drive them). One of the topics of conversation with another mom was if it was true that America didn’t offer long maternity leave and what women do with their young babies when they go back to work and if there good child care systems and also what about breastfeeding? I verified the system was severely flawed and praised the German system where women and men are guaranteed one year of paid leave and an optional second of unpaid leave.
Leipzig was a dream. I’d honestly forgotten how much I liked the city and while a bit sad Dallin didn’t get to go with me, I’m really glad I went and got to take Teddy. My main reason for going to Leipzig was to visit my favorite German librarian friend, but I got a bunch of extra perks from the trip too. We spent an afternoon at a little on-person library Selina manages and had a great time reading (and chewing on) books. It was also really neat seeing so many people come in. I don’t visit our public library very often, so I loved seeing what an integral part of the community this little library played and how many free things it offered. Plus it was fun to see Selina in her element and Teddy is just starting to enjoy his books.
Because it was almost 100 degrees when I left for Leipzig on Sunday, I assumed it would stay warm. I was very wrong and brought all the wrong clothes for both me and Teddy because it dropped down to the 50s for the next day and a half with some very chilly rain/wind. Teddy took it in stride though and insisted on kicking off the blanket I brought in solidarity, trying to tell me he didn’t care if his feet and legs and arms were cold if mine were too. I took Teddy jogging with me and that went pretty well aside from me feeling bad that he was undoubtedly a bit chilly. Our second jog was to the Volkschlachtdenkmal, built in 1913 to commemorate 100 years since the Battle of Leipzig when Napoleon was defeated (the beginning of the end for him, so to speak). It was a really bloody battle with more than a half million people there and over one hundred thousand dead. The monument itself is large and solemn, as is fitting.
Teddy and I spent time in the city center, went to the Lukas bakery three times (I fell in love with their salmon sandwiches and strawberry pudding plunders) and also consumed a large amount of ice cream in the rain. Obviously it was a good time.
The Leipzig respite was a definite highlight before returning to caring for the dogs and Teddy in Berlin. Though a bit overwhelmed, I managed and was so happy when Dallin came home this morning. This happiness was interrupted upon Dallin testing positive for COVID, which we are still figuring out how to handle.
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