International Advantages

So far in my experience, there have not been many advantages having an international relationship. I won't bore you with the predictable disadvantages (plane tickets! moving! language barriers!), but instead I want to shed some light on some unexpected advantages.

Sports Fans
Some hard core fans would recommend dating outside your own conference, because how could an Eagles fan like myself live happily in the same house as a Cowboys fan? How about a Yankees/Red Sox romance? When dating an American, you always find out early where your potential partner's loyalty lies. For me, that was never a problem. Aron didn't know the difference between National and American League baseball, so it was relatively easy to convince him that the Phillies were the best (especially after their World Series win!) baseball team. I also had no loyalties within the Eredivisie (Dutch soccer league), so I had no problem accepting that Ajax Amsterdam was the best.

The only time our nationalities have influenced our sports viewing pleasure was during the 2010 Winter Olympics. Dutch hearts everywhere were broken when Sven Kramer WENT IN THE WRONG LANE! OMG THE WORLD JUST ENDED!!!! We were with a lot of family when the US speed skaters faced the Dutch team in the semi-final men's relay. The winner would race for gold and the loser would race for bronze. After much trash talking before the race, (not from me, for once) the room got pretty quiet as the US led by one second, then by two, and I forget the final difference, but their hearts were broken again. USA finished with silver, and the Dutch team won bronze with a faster time than the US and whoever won gold. Hearts. Broken.

No In-Law Competitions
I have seen some pretty hard-to-deal with in laws. Grandparents insisting that they want to see their new granddaughter AT LEAST every two weeks. Heck, I've even heard of a woman who's MIL can't even be in the same room as her own family. No matter how terrible or wonderful your in-laws are, it's always a balancing act, trying to make sure one set isn't favored over the other. And if step parents are also involved, my heart goes out to you. I can't imagine balancing three or four sets of parents! And that's good, because I don't have to balance ANY!!! Which parents should we go to for Christmas? EASY! The parents that are in the same country as us. Whose turn is it to babysit the Little Monster? SAME ANSWER! The only balancing we have to do is alternate Christmases. EASY! Seriously, if you have in-law issues, I would try to convince one to move far, far away. It sure has made my life just a little bit easier.

Day 2: Where you'd like to be in 10 years

In ten years, I'll be 33. We'll be married. We'll have a house with a yard. I'll be done with school, sort of. Because I'll work at school, teaching English to high school students. We'll have more kids. Hopefully two more. We'll be going to America regularly. My little Monster will be 12, and probably not so little. On our regular visits to America, Monster will go to Camp. I hope he loves it just like I did as a kid. I was 12 for my first week away at Camp, but I think Monster will go earlier. I want him to go to mini-camp at like 5 or 6. He has already been to Camp for a visit.

Future Camper on the pier. Winter '10-'11

There is a lot in store for our family in the years to come. But right now, Monster is trying to read The Fire Engine Book and he is calling me back to the present. Can I just say that in 10 years it'll be 2021?! It'll be the Next Roaring Twenties.

30 day challenge

Well I guess now that I explained how I got to where I am, I have to figure out what the heck I'm going to talk about here. I thought a good way to start was to complete a 30 day challenge that I found on randomosityblog.com.

Day 1: Your current relationship

Currently, my boyfriend and I have been together for 3 years and counting. When I got pregnant way earlier than anyone should, we always agreed that when we decided to get married, it would be as a celebration of our love and our relationship. Not because we had a baby. Not because one of us needed a visa. We want our marriage to be about our love and our family.

We also want to do it right. Plan ahead so that family and friends from both sides have time to plan their travel plans (to America). Have enough money to have the wedding of my our dreams. And I did not want to be engaged for the sake of being engaged. I never wanted to be that couple that was engaged for 2 years before we even started to set a date. As soon as he asks, I am going to pull out a calendar, and circle one day with a big red marker. Well I guess I will call my family and friends first. And maybe I'll wait until the next day to whip out the calendar. But you catch my drift.

So yes, we are young. Yes, we are in love. Yes, we are parents. No, we aren't married. That doesn't make us stupid or bad parents. It makes us unique. And I like us the way we are.

The beginning

So I've decided to start blogging. But where do I even begin? I guess I'll start in 2008, when I unexpectedly met the person who would change life as I knew it.

It was summer 2008. I was on summer break from Lehigh University and back at Camp Pecometh where I had worked every summer since '05. This particular camp chooses to hire about 15 or so counselors/staffers from other countries. That summer we had staffers from Australia, Hungary, England, and (most importantly) one blonde-haired blue-eyed Dutchman. The official policy was no romantic relationships should develop during the camp summer. Well rules are made to be broken right? Aron and I started dating a few weeks before the conclusion of summer. We spent every weekend together and after camp, we flew down to Florida and went to Disneyworld. My older sister asked me if I needed to add one more guest for her wedding, but unfortunately, Aron had to be back in Holland for HIS sister's wedding (which was about 30 hours before my sister's).

My junior year at Lehigh was certainly atypical from the average student. Turns out I was pregnant (oops) and trying to maintain a SUPER long distance relationship. It all worked out and May 22nd, 2009 Aron and I became parents. We lived with my parents, flew back and forth a few times, undecided where to plant our roots and grow our family. We knew one thing, we had to have our family together. When Aron couldn't find work in America for a Visa, around Christmas '09, we figured out it was pretty simple for me to get a residential permit in the Netherlands. So after a lot of tearful conversations with family and friends, I boarded a plane with everything I could fit in two suitcases, a diaper bag and a stroller, and took a huge (8 hour) leap.

We were now in February 2010, living with Aron's parents. By September I had my official paperwork, and April 29th, 2011, we closed on our first apartment. We are now homeowners, an independant family of three, ready to start planting our roots and live our own lives, together.

If someone had told me on my 20th birthday (May '08) that by 23 I would have a kid, live abroad, be in a committed relationship, and that we would own our own home, I probably would've laughed in your face. Funny how life happens. And I wouldnt have it any other way