A European Adventure
September 29th, 2018
Birthday Cake by Oma.
The 23rd of September isn’t just the first day of Fall for us, it’s a day that marks when our entire world changed. Five years, ago on a balmy first day of fall in Paso Robles, Logan was born. It’s hard to believe it’s been five years. They say the older you get the faster time appears to pass. Having kids seems to magnify that principle. It’s been an exciting whirlwind of a time. It feels like we blinked and Logan became a toddler and now a big boy.
For his birthday this year Logan wanted two things. First, he wanted Oma and Opa to come for a visit and second, he wanted a space themed birthday with a magician and piñata. It all seemed like a reasonable mix of cultures so we set out to get it put together.
The Sunday before his birthday, we invited all the kids in the building and from his school to come over and have some burgers, cake, and watch the magic show. It was a huge hit with the kids and even the adults stuck around because they were having a good time (something that doesn’t usually happen at the kids’ birthday parties).
On Monday morning Logan woke us all up to open presents and party. We had a great time watching him unwrap his gifts and realizing there was a lot of father son time in our future with all the new Lego projects.
Over the years Logan has really shown a love for animals. Growing up on the farm probably influenced this a bit but it’s grown into a beautiful empathy for all living creatures. Three years ago we went to the Santa Barbara Zoo for his 2nd birthday and got to see the new giraffes Chad and Michael.
This year we filled it up again and headed to Tiergarten Zoo in Berlin. Over the past year Doreen and Logan have been transfixed with a documentary TV show in Germany about all the zoos and zoo keepers. They cover different animals and different zoos and it’s really incredible how involved and informative it is. Tiergarten Zoo is often the subject of the show because they have recently had baby tigers and a baby polar bear. We had a wonderful time walking the grounds and seeing all the exhibits.
As we were leaving the zoo Doreen leaned over and told me that she actually remembered coming here when she was a kid. This was about as far West as they could go and considered a real treat for those that lived in the East.
Tidbits of information like that used to make me feel sad as I would try to think about what it would be like to live in such a repressive society. As Logan gets older and we’ve begun to explore that side of his heritage I find myself filled with optimism. Logan is literally the byproduct of what happens when right triumphs over wrong and when good rises above the evils in the world.
On Thursday of this coming week we will celebrate the reunification of Germany and next month we will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the wall coming down. We embrace the history and culture so we don’t forget what people like the Schlesiers had to go through to live in a free society - something that’s easy as an American to forget.
So far this year Logan has gotten to ride on a train in Dresden that his Opa rode on as a kid, go to the zoo his Mom went to a a child and discover a part of his heritage that wouldn’t have been possible without our move to Berlin. It might all be going faster then I ever wanted it to go but it’s developing just as it should.
Wishing you all the best Fall has to offer!
The McNeills