Mom and Dad Version 1.0

July 26, 2019

Mom and Dad Version 1.0

If you are fortunate, parents often represent one of life’s primary constants. As you grow older, you become accustomed to not seeing some friends or siblings for stretches of time, particularly if they go to uni or move out (or if you do). For Jenny and I, moving to another continent meant that we wouldn’t see our parents in person for the longest period of time in our lives so far. Video calls and voice chats are fantastic, and we are thankful for them, but there is nothing like sharing a conversation in the flesh! And more than just conversation, there is so much to understanding someone else’s routine, community, and home life that adds to relationship. That is why we had been really looking forward to seeing Mom and Dad (S), and sharing more than 2 weeks together here, and why we are still full of anticipation for when Mom and Dad (H) come soon! For this post, Mom and Dad means Mom and Dad (S).

We met the parents in Amsterdam and began a whirlwind tour of the Netherlands (Amersfoort, Utrect, Tenpost) and Germany (Lower Saxony, Cologne, Middle Rhinelands) together. Following that short sprint, we took an intermission in Switzerland for about a week, and got back to a work routine whilst sharing evenings with them. Round two saw travels back to Germany (Bavaria, Munich), to Austria (Salzberg, Innsbruck), and to Lichtenstein (just to snag that scalp).

Quick Stats:

6 Countries.
3 Rental Cars.
7 Family Hosts of the highest quality (I’m including us, since we hosted them!).
Attempts at 4 languages and countless times that Mom’s German/Dutch language skills came in handy.

Highlights:

Showing off our parents at church.
Staying the night in ~14th century castle.
Bike tour of Amersfoort and Canadian Canoe tour of Utrect’s rural canals.
Gelato and swims by the lake to tolerate the historic European heatwave with temperatures hovering around 35 degrees for over a week!
Hiking in the Alps (locally and in Innsbruck).
For us, the arrival of our road bikes! Although I don't think bringing the bikes was a highlight for them, but it did add to the adventure! (Thanks to both Hayhoe and Sjaarda parents for making this happen and helping us avoid the exorbitant cost of bikes here.)

We were so thankful for their easy-going and optimistic nature while they were here. It kind of reminds me a little of how a baby can sometimes be just as happy with a kitchen spoon as with a $30 Sophie toy - my parents probably got the most joy here out of simple, inexpensive things like visiting a hardware store here (Dad), and hanging out at the market (Mom). However, it must be said that the castle we slept in was a big hit, and was not cheap! We were also very thankful for various meaningful conversations in the car. Talking about each of our personalities and tendencies in a constructive way gives us tools to better understand and serve one another, and also leaves much to laugh about! I'm reminded that it is better to understand someone than to simply observe them, and to do that you often simply have to use your ears. Our creator made us all quite different, yet very capable of understanding one another.

It was tough to see them go, but was made more bearable by the arrivals of our good friends Chris and Serena a day later! Here are some pics from our phenomenal time with Mom and Dad and our top notch hosts around the continent: