As Raul commences his adventure in Germany, life still goes on back in Saint Louis but with an acute emptiness that was not present before.

We both have had to take responsibility for tasks that were the other’s before. In our marriage, it has generally been more efficient to divide up the labor. I do the cooking, for example, and Raul is in charge of our investments. Now we both have to do some things that we either did not desire to do in the past or that we are not accustomed to. Raul is now forced to cook for himself, and I had to retrieve some items from deep in the closet, a place I’m scared to go! We are both making sacrifices.

In the end though, despite the utter sorrow and profound pain of separation, in addition to those more trivial matters, we believe it will be worth it, in order to take advantage of this opportunity that will help us to effect our long-held dream of living abroad.

Munich will not make a perfect home, nor do I believe such a place exists, but it is one part of a fascinating world that we are eager to know.