Good

Today was good.

I'm not sure why, but it was.

Everything went pretty smooth, and I didn't have any really terribly hard moments or emotions to contend with. I listened to music while I was watching Konstantin this morning, and we sang, and danced, and played, and it was good.

Then I read a bit this afternoon, and it was good. I'm now 432 pages into my 1,462 page unabridged version of The Count of Monte Cristo. I know that seems like a lot of pages, and I know it's a classic, which most people think means slow and boring, but this is one hell of a book! It's been far too long since the last time that I read it, and I can really lose myself in the story right now. It's sooo good.

Before lunch, I wrote a few emails to people, including my aunt, about her trip here to Germany in April, and that got me thinking about guide books for Europe, which led me to Amazon, which led me to a stupendous deal: Rick Steve's 2008 Guide for Germany & Austria, just $6.99! Usually his books are $18!!! So I bought it right away, along with the Italy guide and the Ireland guide (just in case, for next year), which were also both on sale for $6.99. I got the Eastern Europe guide, too, for the regular price of $16.99. All of this put me over $25, which means I got free shipping to my parents' house in Texas! They'll send the books along to me when they receive them, and then I'll be armed with a veritable ton of things to do and places to see. It was totally good!

Plus, with the help of my Uncle David and Aunt Jenny, I've been researching Eurail tickets, and I think I've settled on the first one I want to get: Germany-Denmark. It's the cheapest ticket that allows travel in Germany, so even if I don't get to Denmark at all (and I'm hoping I CAN get to Denmark), I'll have a ton of days to travel within Germany: day trips to cities, two-day trips to places, or just weekend trips to visit my friends Sylvia and Keith where they live on the military base in Stuttgart (a city, by the way, which I've never been to). I'll be a free woman, with leave to travel about the country! Like a freakin' Southwest commercial! It was good!

And then I had lunch with the family: American-style hot dogs. They looked the same, but tasted totally different. The boys loved that they were eating "American" food. And that was good.

After lunch, I got all decked out in my cold weather gear - even a scarf! - and went across the street to meet the American lady who lives over there, Amy. I didn't get to meet her, though. She's always away when I go over. Bummer. That wasn't so good. But she's not going anywhere, and I'll meet her eventually, and that will be good.

Next, I walked the six or seven blocks from her house to the bank, and listened to music along the way, and took some pictures of the church and the streets, and it was good.

I got to the bank and got my money without a hassle. It was good.

Then, I hopped the next train to Cologne. It's a nice ride, not too long, not too short, and I listened to music and read my book. It was good.

In Cologne, the first thing I did was look for a cell phone store. I found one, and I bought a SIM card and a prepaid phone card for Sabine's old cell phone. I am officially communicado! I have my German phone number, my German minutes, and all I need are a few German friends to start ringing me with plans and fun stuff to do. It was good.

Next, I wandered around in a few wrong directions until I found the tourist center, a little ways from the cathedral. I got some info on bus tours in the city - cost, length of time, destinations, etc., and I'm hoping to do one within the next week or so. There are no walking tours offered at this time of year, but I'm hoping I'll maybe find some other cool stuff to do in those guide books I ordered earlier today. I now have things to do right here in Cologne, which will take my mind off the things I'm NOT doing in Bonn, with Tom. It was good.

After getting the tour info, I took the city train to the main library. I found the books in English without a problem, and I found a ton of books I'd like to read, including Life of Pi and The Chronicles of Blarnia: what looks to be a hilarious parody of the Chronicles of Narnia series. I didn't check anything out - didn't I just mention I have over 1,000 pages to read in The Count of Monte Cristo?! - but now I know where my next books will come from, and they'll be free! It was so good.

And then, I headed up the street from the library to buy a folder for Leonard at the Kaufhof, a department store here in Cologne. He needs the folder for school, and Sabine asked me to get it if I had time. So, I went in, found the folder right away, AND bought a 2009 calendar for only 5 Euro. The calendar is a beautiful collection of shots of the Swiss Alps. It was - and IS! - good.

Then, I hopped the train home. The ride was peaceful, and even though I did think a lot about Tom as we were going along, it wasn't so heavy and crushing and painful as it normally is. It was more bittersweet, and a little melancholy. I'm mostly sad when I think that all of the things I'm doing alone right now, I could be doing with Tom, together. If he wanted that, too. But like I said, that's a step in the right direction. I felt better than I have in awhile when thinking about Tom. The music I was listening to helped. It was good.

When I got back to the house, Sabine and the kids were just sitting down to dinner. I gave Leonard his folder, admired Konstantin's haircut (he got it cut this afternoon, and he looks so much older now!), and joked around a lot with Samuel. We had the radio playing while we all ate, and I lip-synced along with the songs in English, singing into the bottle of water, and Samuel sang back-up on the bottle of juice. It was good.

Then, Sabine and I cleaned everything up, and the boys watched a half hour or so of T.V., and then we all went upstairs. Konstantin went to bed without any fuss, the older boys weren't wild, Sabine read two stories in German, one of which I understood and one of which I didn't, and then the two older boys went to bed. It was good.

When I came downstairs, I checked my email, and found a response from Tom. He said that he was sorry it was late, and that it was short, but that he wanted to let me know that he wasn't ignoring the email I sent him for his birthday. He said thank you. And for once, I didn't feel disappointed that he wasn't writing to me because he feels he made a mistake, or wants me back. I just felt happy to have a response. It was good.

I sent him a quick note back, and I included my cell phone number, which I had already told him I was going to do - it wasn't something I sprang on him. Now he has it. Now he can contact me if he needs to, directly. I'm glad he has it, but I'm putting no expectations on it. I'm not obsessing about it. That's good.

And, just now, I finished emailing a ton of responses to a number of friends and family members who have sent their love and support, and I ran upstairs to say goodnight to Sabine and Gerhardt, and now I'm going to read for a bit and head to bed, because I'm finished writing this blog entry.

And you know what?

It's good.