On Wednesday, July 19, 2006, a tow truck pulled up in front of our house on Kenneth Ave. in Chicago.

"I'm here to pick up a Toyota Camry," said the driver.

"Yes, well, that's my husband's car, but he took it to Hoffman Estates this morning because he wasn't expecting you until 4," I told him. "I'll call him, but I'm not sure when he can get here."

"That's okay. I can wait."

And that's when it hit me--we were moving to Germany! Again!

In November, 2001, we went through the same process, but without the car. The difference was that in 2001, Bob signed a two-year contract, and this time, an open-ended contract. The first time, our stay in Germany would be finite. This time, we didn't know, and still don't know, how long we would be here. I was fine with this idea, until the day they packed our furniture, clothes, toys, and car into a container. Bob and I were numb that day, and I remember only bits and pieces of July, August and September. For two and half months, I felt as if I were trapped in twilight sleep.

The foreman of the moving crew kept telling us that we weren't going to have enough space in our container for all our furniture and the car, which would go in last. We might have to leave behind our couch and two large upholstered chairs. One of the movers, the one with the Grim Reaper tattooed on his arm, said we had plenty of space. The tow truck driver recommended that we fill the trunk of the car and put the bikes on the roof rack, just in case we needed the extra space. We agreed, and without thinking, we just started throwing things into the car. Later, we had no idea what we had packed into the car, and which bikes had ended up on top of the car. And if they were secure. Would all the bouncing around in the container as it crossed the Atlantic by ship cause the bikes to come crashing down on top of the car?

In the end, the mover with the Grim Reaper was right--we had enough space. I still decided to leave behind the upholstered chairs. The tow truck left with our car and bikes. At the loading docks, a wall was built to separate our furniture and stuff from the car--afterall, we didn't want our boxes to end up on the hood of the car. The car was then driven into the container and secured. We were told by the moving company that it would take four to six weeks for our container to arrive in Germany. It took seven due to delays by U.S. Customs in New York.