Three years in Sweden

There hasn't been much that I've wanted to write about lately, mostly because I prefer to tell funny stories. I arrived in Sweden three years ago today, which I guess is as good of an excuse to blog as any. For the record, I use Mel Brooks' definition of funny. If I think it's funny, that's all that matters.


So, I don't have anything funny to write, I'm fresh out of funny stories and I don't want to take a trip down memory lane. Time to ramble.
 The last three years have been good to us, and they've gone crazy fast. I'm really looking forward to returning to family, friends and my kitties, but I fear that the challenges of getting established back home won't be easy. Not that life in the US is particularly tough (from my new perspective I now believe that I used to complicate things for no good reason), but unlike our lives in Sweden, every future decision seems a little scarier because it's "permanent". Not completely true, but it's been a comfort working toward the next life event, which always had a fixed date. Returning to a state of not knowing just doesn't seem fun. It's a return to the real world I guess. At least Miranda will be there to help me deal with this new reality.

In the mean time, we're trying to ignore all pracitcal thoughts and we're instead focusing on how to make the most of our time in Sweden and on how many trips we can squeeze into the next 13 weeks. Germany in a week and a half, Russia in just over three weeks. Barcelona in April or May, and hopefully another trip or two outside of Sweden before the end of May. Then we'll see about doing something crazy in June. More on that later. The limiting question is how much can we afford? All I know is that if we repatriate in the black, we've done something wrong.

Lastly, a fitness update: My beautiful wife is a real fitness buff. Her abs are looking better than mine, and I'm pretty sure she can do more push-ups than me. I, on the other hand, was picking out a shirt the other day, coughed to clear my throat and ended up throwing out my back. It reminds me of the time I lifted my leg to get into bed about seven years ago and ended up pulling a groin muscle. Aging sucks.