Ryan's Birthday Weekend
Topic: Ryan
Friday morning Ryan and I left to go to the airport at Leeds. It was a beautiful morning. While waiting in the lounge for our gate to be announced, Ryan made lots of friends. He does that wherever he goes. I was letting him walk around and push the stoller to get some energy out before the flight. Most of the people we passed would smile, or start conversations. Ryan seems to have a positive effect on people, which is one of the many things I love about him.
The flight went smoothly. Ryan slept the whole way. Yay! We flew into London, and from there came into Frankfurt. Ryan slept on that flight as well. Yay again! I was so happy and excited to be back in Germany. Unfortunately that feeling wasn't to last long.
When we got to the baggage claim area, Ryan's car seat wasn't there. After waiting quite a while and talking to airport staff, it still wasn't there. I had to file a lost luggage report. I was not happy. I was hungry and tired, and so was Ryan. The airport didn't have a loaner car seat for me, and all the rental car places wouldn't rent me just a car seat. I'm afraid I cried at that point. My cell phone wasn't working either, which puzzled me since it was a tri-band phone (supposed to work in the UK, the States, and Germany). I fought with the pay phone and got a hold of Larry, who was driving up from Garmisch. After our conversation, fighting with the pay phone some more, and an aborted plan to find someone to borrow a seat from, I called Larry back (Ryan had been screaming pretty much the whole time I was struggling with the phone, and at some point had become very smelly). All I wanted was to be in Wuerzburg. Larry told me to go ahead and take the train (my original plan) and that he would pick us up at the bahnhof in Wuerzburg. So I took Ryan and myself and my cart of luggage (one big suitcase and one duffel) and started to make my way across the airport. A kind stranger pushed the luggage cart for me. I've noticed that chivalry is alive and kicking for women traveling with small children. Throughout almost every leg of our trip, people offered to help us, and most times I accepted. I don't know how I would have done it without any help at all.
I got on the train two hours later than I had planned, sans car seat. Ironically, the airport found the car seat twenty minutes before I left. However, I didn't realize I had to turn my phone off and back on again to get it to work in Germany, so no one was able to get a hold of me. (Much later Larry suggested I try turning the phone off and on again. It worked.) That night I had wanted to attend a dinner in honor of a visiting taekwondo master, but that definitely wasn't going to happen. I didn't get into Wuerzburg until around 9:30pm. The train ride was smooth, at least. It was Ryan's first time on a train. Ryan just dozed and I had two very nice companions to chat with. Both were German and spoke excellent English. The second was a very nice man who helped me get all my stuff off the train at my stop. Getting my stuff down off the platform was another matter. There was no elevator and I had two pieces of luggage and a stroller, not to mention Ryan! Luckily bahnhof (trainstation) employees helped me.
I was so happy to see Larry when he arrived to pick us up. He had managed to get to Wuerzburg and get into the px as they were closing. He bought a nice new car seat. I went ahead and installed it forward facing. It was Ryan's first time riding in his car seat forward facing. I told him he was riding like a big boy now!
It was weird to be in a car driving on the right side of the road. I'd just spent five weeks driving around on the left side. I jokingly told Larry he was driving on the wrong side.
We got onto post and it felt so good to be back. I really felt like I'd come home. It felt natural and comfortable and I really thought that if we just drove to our old apartment, all our stuff would be there and we would be home.
We stayed with a friend from taekwondo, Marcia, and her son, Randy. They live in the first building we lived in when we moved to Germany. It was great to see Marcia and Randy and to finally be at our destination. It was late, but it took a while for us to unwind from our repsective long trips. (Larry had a long and stressful drive up. Garmisch is about three hours or more from Wuerzburg. You have to go through Munich, and the traffic is always bad. Since Larry had a full day at class first, he couldn't even leave until the afternoon, and ran smack into rush hour.) Finally we all went to bed. Ryan slept really well.
The next morning flew by. Before I knew it, we were running a little late. Ryan's party was at the Marshall Heights Bowling Center in Kitzingen. (For those of you not familiar with the posts in Germany, Kitzingen is a town about fifteen mintues away. The posts in that general area are spread out. There are about half a dozen military installations all within about twenty minutes of eachother, give or take a little.) We got there and started to set up for the party. My mom had sent party supplies in the theme of Baby Einstein. We had cups, plates, napkins, a happy birthday banner, goodie bags, and hats. Ryan had a felt hat that said, "Happy First Birthday," and a vinyl bib that said the same. I'd also brought streamers. Guests started arriving, and very kindly helped us set everything up. Our friend Niki was wonderful and brought balloons and took care of the cake. (She also came up with the idea of having the party at the bowling center, and reserved it for us.) In no time the place looked quite festive.
It was so great to see so many friends! I had the best time talking to everyone and catching up. All of my friends from the parenting group I attended were there with their little ones. It was fun to see how they have grown. My friends from taekwondo and the theater were there, too. (To those of you reading this who were at the party, thank you so much for coming! I cannot begin to tell you all how much I enjoyed seeing you again!)
We had pizza and drinks, then it was time to do cake. Ryan had an ice cream cake from baskin robins. It was really cute and said, "Happy First Birthday Ryan" on it. It was cookies and cream ice cream with chocolate cake. I had a "1" candle to put on it. Funny thing was, I hadn't thought about how to light the candle. No one had matches or a lighter. No one smokes anymore! We checked all over the bowling alley and finally we found someone with a light. (Note to self: for future birthday parties, don't forget matches!)
We lit the candle and sang happy birthday. When we went to blow out the candle, Ryan pursed his lips as if he were blowing! Poor Ryan was really tired, but was a trooper. He seemed to perk up a bit when he got his fingers into his cake! He actually didn't make that big of a mess, but more cake make it onto him than in him. That's the way it's supposed to be!
After cake (thank you Linda for cutting it!), we opened presents. At first Ryan enjoyed pulling the bows off and playing with them. Then, Ryan was most taken with a huge dumptruck given to him by our parenting group friend, Michelle. Ryan played with the truck pretty much the rest of the party! Everyone gave Ryan such nice things. Unfortunately we had to box them up and mail them, because I never could have gotten everything back in my luggage. I can't wait for it all to get here!
Towards the end of the party, everyone was great and helped clean up. (Thank you!)
That evening Larry and Ryan and I went with Marcia, Randy, and a bunch of Marcia's neighbors to my favorite restaurant in Wuerzburg, Vesuvio's. Yum! Unfortunately Ryan hadn't napped like I thought he would, so he was cranky. Larry was very kind and took him outside a few times so I could have a break and eat.
That night and early morning, Ryan didn't sleep at all well. It was driving me quite crazy, even though I knew it wasn't his fault. One of the other reasons Larry and I came out to Wuerzburg was taekwondo related. Larry had a test, and I had a seminar for part of my taekwondo teaching certification. Ryan picked a bad night to not sleep! I was nevous as it was, and now tired on top of it. However, things turned out quite well. The visiting master, Master Abair, was very nice. He put me at ease right away. There was only one other student besides myself. My instructor, Mr. Rabon, was there as well. The seminar was very informative and I enjoyed learning from Master Abair. At the end of the day, I came away with my level II certification, and a wealth of new information. I now have only one more part of the certification to do, then I will be certified in the ATA to open my own school or club.
Larry had Ryan while I was in the seminar. Larry took Ryan on his first volksmarch with Marcia, Randy, and their neighbors. It was in a nearby town, Karlstadt. From the pictures Larry took, it looked pretty. I can't believe we never went there. But then again, you can't go everywhere! I was really glad Larry and Ryan got to spend the time together.
Larry had to leave that night to go back to Garmisch. My parenting group friends, plus spouses that were around, got together at parenting group member Melinda's house. Melinda picked Ryan and me up and we got some Thai food from my other favorite restaurant, The Rainbow. We all had a great evening at Melinda's. It was quite relaxing and enjoyable. Another girl in our group, Beth, was kind enough to give me and Ryan a ride back to Marcia's.
One of the moderators of our group, Anne, had told us that she still gets together with friends she made twenty odd years ago in her parenting group. I really hope we can all stay in touch and meet again at some point.
Later on I found out that Larry had gotten really sick not long after he left, and had to stop and get a place to stay. I was really worried, but there wasn't much I could do. Luckily, he was improved enough in the early morning to make it back to Garmisch.
The next day I took a walk with and hung out with my friend, Shawn. We used to take walks together almost every day, and get coffee and cinnabon sometimes. It felt like old times. The weather over the weekend was gorgeous, too, so it was perfect for being outside.
I really did not want to leave. I felt like my life was right there where I'd left it. I had such a great, relaxing time and I just didn't want to go. Shawn reassured me that one day I would feel that way about England. I hope so. I was never good at letting go, especially of people and places where I was happy. Wuerzburg was my home for amost five years, and there are a lot of good memories there. I feel like I did a lot of growing up and changing there, and experienced so much. I became more independent. I became a traveler, a black belt, a mother. I went places and did things and made many good friends along the way. All that will always be a part of me.
I realize though that even if I could stay in Wuerzburg, it's the nature of the military for people to leave (three of my good friends had already left - I missed one by just one day!). Also, a lot of posts are closing down and Wuerzburg will too, eventually. I also have to remind myself that in order to have had all these experiences, I had to let go of where I was previously. I've already gone some neat places in England and met some nice people, so I'm sure I will look back and be glad I was here. The transition is always a little tough though. I may have left Germany behind, but I carry my friendships with me always.

Marcia very kindly took me and Ryan to the bahnhof, and helped me get everything on the train. In retrospect, I didn't use about 75% of the stuff I brought, and could have done just fine with only a duffel bag. Oh well. Live and learn. I'm usually underpacked, but having a little one, I overpacked.
The train ride to the airport was going really well, until Ryan had a severe case of diarhea that soaked his clothes, and got on my jeans. Poor little guy. The men in the compartment we were in cleared out so I could clean Ryan up. Luckily I packed an extra outfit for Ryan in the diaper bag. Once we were at the airport, I opened our luggage and pulled out another outfit for Ryan. We got checked in and got on the plane, and just as we were about to take off, Ryan had another leaky episode. They actually held the plane for a couple minutes so I could try to clean him up. I didn't do as good a job as I would have liked. They told me not to take too long, and of course it's difficult to do anything in those lavatories. I only had one clean outfit for Ryan (I had no idea he was going to get so sick), so I saved it. I asked for a blanket and just wrapped Ryan in that. After we took off, he had a third episode. I wanted to wait until we got to London to really clean him well and put his last outfit on. We smelled like raw sewage. It was terrible. I felt really bad for everyone sitting around us. Ryan was just dozing, so I didn't want to disturb him. We finally landed and I got a chance to clean him up well and put on that last outfit. Fortunately, there were no more episodes and Ryan just slept from London to Leeds. Whew!
We got to Leeds around 10pm and went to the baggage claim. I was utterly stunned to find out that our brand new car seat (you all know those things ain't cheap) wasn't there. I was LIVID. To lose one car seat is one thing. To lose TWO in four days is unbelievable incompetence. I believe it was Lufthansa both times. I filed a missing luggage report. The employee had the nerve to suggest I just buckle Ryan into the car without a seat! I told him I didn't know the laws in this country, but if I did that in the States, there would be dire consequences. (Besides, I would not dream of doing that!) This employee, ("Pauley," I believe) said the airport doesn't normally have car seats for people. I said, "Well then don't lose them!" Pauley found a horrible, dirty, old car seat that someone had abandoned at the airport (I could see why). I didn't have any other options, so I took it. I couldn't figure out how to install it or even how to get Ryan buckled in. I did my best and prayed the whole way home. Luckily, we had a nice car seat at home that I'd bought back in March. I installed that one first chance I got. This was all Monday night. As of today, they still don't know where the new car seat is. If they don't find it by Saturday night, then we can file a claim.
On top of Ryan being sick, Sunday night I started to have a mild cold, which I still have right now. A not very good ending to what was a wonderful trip.
All the car seat nonsense and not feeling well aside, we really did have a great time and I am so glad we went. Now Ryan will always have a great story that for his first birthday, he flew from England back to Germany to the town where he was born to have his first birthday party!