Let me do the translation for you.

We are moving to Germany!

Jay was offered a position in Germany – he will be responsible for finance in Europe. This is a great opportunity for him. I am going to continue to do my current Treasury role from Germany. We are expecting to move January 1, 2024 and will be there for 2-3 years.

Despite saying “I am never moving again”, here we go. Technically, it isn’t a full move. We are not selling our home in the Quad Cities, so that makes it a little easier for me to prepare. We will not be renting it out, either. Still scarred from the last expat experience home rental….

The kids are looking forward to the move. When we asked them if they would be open to it, Lily asked about 3 questions and as soon as she realized she could go to the same school and play softball with a friend who recently moved to Frankfurt, she said “OK I’m in!”. Ty was a bit more thoughtful about it. He looked at a map, searched pictures of the area, asked if he could continue to play sports, and realized he could continue to talk with his friends on the phone – and then said yes.

Kaycee, our beloved dog, will be making the trip with us. It was not an option for the kids to leave him behind.

We have started to learn German using DuoLingo. It is kind of fun to stretch my brain in a new way. I don’t expect to become fluent, but I want to feel like I at least know some of the basics to communicate.

I always tell people that ask me about our last expat experience if they have any advice, “If you are asked to do an expat assignment, just say yes. Whatever is going on in your life, you can manage.” I said yes to the first expat experience when I was 7 months pregnant with my second child. For those of you who don’t know, 4 days after we committed to Germany, my brother was in a serious horse accident. I had to do some serious soul searching and decided that we should still go to Germany. Not an easy decision, but I am confident in the decision.

Jay and I are heading across the pond next week to look for a home. We already know the kids will be going to Frankfurt International School. I’m hoping to lock down a home, get familiar with the area, visit the school and the office, check out the local baseball and softball teams, and get an idea for what I need to pack and bring with us.

I will do my best to update the blog and bring you along on the next Shearer Adventure!

Auf Wiedersehen (goodbye)