Michigan Christmas

I got confirmation this morning from my director that I need to be moved home from Germany to start work in Dearborn on January 1. He said that we can move home in December to be home for Christmas. Of course this has been the going assumption for a couple of weeks now but it's nice to have confirmation from (nearly) the highest level.

Am I excited? Absolutely! I am looking forward to being closer to family and reconnecting with friends. I am looking forward to buying a house and making it our home. But it's also a bit bittersweet. With roughly 10 remaining vacation days unplanned, how should we use them? Geneva? Budapest? Vienna? Scotland? Ireland? Heck, we haven't even made it to Berlin, yet. Which items do I want to purchase as "souvenirs?" as reminders of our time in Cologne?

Two years ago to the day, I was on a plane to Germany. Our house in Northville was totally packed up and we had temporarily moved into my parent's basement. It was Father's Day and I was leaving Ben and Carter behind once again for my final business trip to Germany prior to making the official move. I can't believe how quickly the time has passed.