Moving to a new country is like being a newlywed...

This thought struck me while driving through the Belgian countryside recently: Moving to a new country is like being a newlywed.

There is a LOT of planning that comes before the big event. A LOT. A lot of discussion of seeming minutiae, calendars, to-do lists. Then comes the big event, in this case travel day. Wow we just landed on a one-way ticket from America, and this is our new country. It all goes by fast and you try to listen to the advice to stop and enjoy it. "It's your big day, enjoy all the moments."

Then the event is over. Now it is just you and the husband (and now the kiddos too), all looking at each other like, "What did we just do? Where are we? Is it over already? All the planning is over?"

Next comes the funk. Having been in Belgium for a whole 19 days already, I can admit in my retrospect 20/20 vision that I had a funk. A mini-funk mind you, but a funk nonetheless. Mine was only a couple days- a little time where I just wondered if we had done the right thing. Of course, jet lag was no help to my clarity or optimism. But just as newlyweds sometimes look at each other like, "Oh my. We just got married.", I had a bit of, "Oh my. I just moved to Belgium."

Happily and gratefully the funk quickly passed. I got my feet under me, got all the right IDs and a drivers license, could stretch my legs a bit on the open road, found enough from stores that I could survive, and learned that my high school French was coming back to me and proving to be very helpful.

Now, the fun stage... I am an annoyingly, gratingly-in-love newlywed. I love this place. I am enchanted with all of its quirks and cute charms. I smile a lot, and tell anyone that will listen (and some that won't?) how, for me, Belgium=Bliss.

So, if the pattern holds, soon Belgium and I will settle into a comfortable, yet deep and meaningful, long-term relationship. I always love Dr. Laura's marriage advice: Choose Wisely. Treat Kindly. I believe we have chosen wisely, and I believe Belgium and I will treat each other very kindly.

Can't wait til our first anniversary so we can buy each other paper.