Out of Country Relatives #AKwritingChallenge Day 15

I used to have family members living outside the country. My cousin, Brooke, married a man in the military, and they were stationed in Japan for several years. Then they went to Germany for a long stretch. She and I kept in contact for quite some time. I got to meet her oldest daughter when I lived in Denver. We emailed a lot for a while, then nothing for a bit, then back to emailing. I love her a ton - life just gets busy. She has three kids, I have two, and we both homeschool. I know we'd have a lot to talk about if we just had more time to do it.

At the end of 2011, I got the the opportunity to be the 'out of country relative'. My hubby isn't military, but he works IT for a company that holds government contracts. We'd moved for his job before, but this time they relocated us to Europe. Strangely enough, we wound up in Linden, Germany, which was thirty miles southwest of Kusel. That just happened to be where Brooke and her family were living. We made plans a couple of different times to get together, but the kids and I didn't have a car for a long stretch - and then all four of us went through several months of constantly getting sick. We were told it had to do with moving - that most everyone in Steven's office dealt with new bugs, time changes, stress over relocation and the job. We were assured that it was normal, but that and the only having one car hampered our traveling for a short while. By the time our car was shipped across the ocean and delivered to our house, and everyone was well enough for visiting, my cousin and her family were packing up and getting ready to move again. Their many years in Germany were coming to an end. I never did get to see her or meet her husband while we lived there.

Brooke and I continued to be the 'out of the country relatives' when they then moved to Spain. We remained in Germany until the end of 2013, and since then, Brooke has come back to the states as well. Another cousin has traveled and stayed in both South America and Spain for a time as a student, but still lives here in the U.S. 

Steven's contract is up again - we aren't sure if it will get renewed. Who knows? We may once again be the 'out of country relatives'. I'll let you know if we have sudden relocation plans.