Dec. 2020 Merry Christmas! Fröhliche Weihnachten! Alles Gute in neuen Jahr!

Dear Family and Friends, 

Greetings from 2037 Gardner St. Augusta, GA 30904!

Thanks to our change of address, 2020 was not a year where we just stayed home, but rather we lived in three different “houses” under three very different conditions, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Throwback to January, Sean was deployed in Africa, Clark was in his final months of Gymnasium (German secondary school), Russell was living in Colorado (liberated adult), and MJ was also in Gymnasium (10^th grade).  Mayland had accepted a new job at the Medical College of Georgia (MCG) as their Sr. Program Coordinator for development of a new medical school curriculum and was no longer volunteering with the Red Cross at Landstuhl.  We were still planning a lot of travel including a 2-week trip to S. Korea in April and a transatlantic cruise on the Queen Mary II to relocate our beloved Tatzie to the US in May.  Our lives were and have stayed very busy this year!  Just not exactly the way we had expected.

January started off looking fairly normal with travel and visits: Clark, MJ, and Mayland made it to London to see “Hamilton” and spent a week exploring the Salisbury region of England to include an incredible full day tour of stone henges found throughout the region.  We discovered just how wonderful winter hiking can truly be, when done with great pub food!  At the end of the month, we were delighted to welcome our dear friend Erica Murray for a couple of weeks.  It was so much fun having her brilliant, loving, and joyous personality filling the house.  Double bonus, Mayland got to pick her up from the airport in our new Audi (she was the first person to ride with me).  Between trips and visitors Clark took his written exams for Das Abitur in Math, Physics and French.  The exams went exceptionally well.  He received the top score in math (the only person in his school this year).  His teacher commented it was the first year (veteran teacher of over 30 years) he ever had a student get a perfect exam score in math – this is an 8-hour written test that determines college placement – can we say incredibly proud parents?    

February, Sean returned home, via a long weekend with Mayland in Catania, Sicily.  Lots of great Sicilian food and walks through the streets of a very beautiful city.  They then made a quick trip to hunt for a house in Georgia.  Mayland had a chance to meet her colleagues at MCG, returning home just in time to enjoy winter break where the family managed to get away for a week in the South of Spain.  Visiting Malaga, Granada (Alhambra), and Cordoba before flying home from Madrid.  They checked body temperatures at the airport and asked to see our passports to move around Europe.  We became very aware that COVID was about to have a serious impact on our lives. During the pandemic, MJ was accepted to both Westtown and George school and eventually would decide to attend Mayland’s alma mater Westtown in the Fall of 2020.  We managed to sell the Volvo just before Germany shut down all businesses, including used car lots.  Of course, Sean was back in the ICU at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center caring for COVID patients evacuated from deployed locations.  The German schools shut down, did a little bit of online teaching and quickly realized it wasn’t working.  So, they devised a schedule for students to attend final classes and take exams over a 4-week period with shortened class times and only essential classes – allowing MJ to complete her 10^th grade year at the Gymnasium.  Clark’s graduation was cancelled right after we bought him a new suit, but he wasn’t disappointed.  It was cancelling the trip to S. Korea that was hard to accept.  We continued to hold out hope that we would be able to enjoy a trans-Atlantic voyage on the Queen Mary II with Tatzie and our friends Elizabeth Sagehorn and Don Lipper, but ultimately, that too was cancelled.  Tatzie would return to the US in May via Lufthansa and stay in Pennsylvania with Mayland’s mother from 

May – July.  She was reportedly wonderful company and won the hearts of the neighborhood. 

Due to the pandemic, Russell was having a hard time finding steady work in Colorado.  So, we started making plans for him to come and live with us in Georgia.  Clark found an apartment in Kaiserslautern Germany within walking distance from the campus of the university he was planning to attend.  One unforeseen issue was the need to install a kitchen (which apparently isn’t uncommon in Germany).  Fortunately, there are plenty of kitchen and bathroom stores nearby offering installation services.  

Mayland started working at MCG and closed on our new home in Georgia in May.  Then, returned to Germany to move Clark into his new apartment in June and pack up the house we had lived in for 9 years.  From 11 – 15 July, we all lived in Clark’s two room apartment… very comfy… we all survived… barely.  Then, we flew out on 15 July 2020 after living in Germany for nine years (since we arrived at Frankfurt on 13 July 2011).  There were a lot of amazing friendships made during those wonderful years.  They fundamentally shaped Russell, Clark, and MJ into the good people they are today.  We are forever grateful for our time in Germany.  The farewell party at Salvatore’s was bittersweet and the list of people who impacted our lives is far too long to list here, please know you are all loved and always welcome in our home.

July was a very busy month.  Appreciate the Troutman family helping to move the antiques that were stored at Mayland’s mother’s house.  Appreciate Russell helping to unload the trucks and unpack the boxes which arrived from two locations (both stuff from Germany and stuff that had been in storage in Virginia for ten years).  Mayland started going into work at the office right away while Sean in-processed at Fort Gordon.  Fortunately, most everyone in Augusta Georgia was good about social distancing and wearing masks, and none of us has suffered a COVID-19 infection… yet.  

MJ started the school year distance learning, but she struggled with the format.  So, when the dorms opened, she moved into a single room at Westtown.  The rules are strict, but she is thriving as a boarding student.  She has returned to Georgia for the holidays and will be back in Pennsylvania in mid-January if the pandemic numbers allow it.  Clark returned to Germany in September to start his first year at the University in Kaiserslautern majoring in Math and Physics.  They started doing full-time distance learning in November, but he has been able to meet some classmates and establish a network of friends.  Sven and Mindy, his adopted uncle and aunt, have continued to provide loving support – from masked grocery shopping to socially distanced Sunday morning “waffles and gravy” breakfasts.  Russell intends to start welding school in January.  

We don’t know when we will see you again, but if you wear a mask and wash your hands until the vaccines arrive, we anticipate that we’ll be able to get together sometime during 2021.  Never have we looked forward to the New Year more than this year.

Love, Peace, and Happiness,

Sean, Mayland, Russell, Clark and MJ