Family Mellmann

It has been strange around here for the last week.  Everyone has been sent home to do their work.  Patrick's college classes were canceled around the middle of last week and he is now just waiting for his instructors to move their training materials online for "distance-learning". Many colleges already offer online courses and distance learning options so this isn't a dramatic shift for them. However, many of his classes benefit from student/instructor interaction.  He has been grounded from flying until further notice. And Men's Wearhouse, where he works, has closed all of their retail shops and sent the staff home. They have done a nice thing by paying their employees (even the part time and hourly) for regularly scheduled hours, so the three shifts a week that Patrick normally would work he will be paid for. Jörg was also sent home last week and told not to come back until further notice. The work marches on, of course, so while his venue has changed the worklo...

Sorry for the "epic post", but it's been an...epic life. Today Joerg and I celebrate twenty years of wedded bliss and family adventures.  I was recently challenged by an older, wiser, and long-married mentor (thanks Mom) to see if I could remember something special from each of those twenty years.  Since I can barely remember what I'm supposed to be doing twenty minutes from now, I had to cheat and refer back to photos to get the timeline right. So, here we go. Year one: a transatlantic move for one of us, a cross-country move for the other, get married, buy a house and move again, have Baby #1.  Not bad for the first year. Three years of adjusting to Vermont, married life, and parenting flew by like a shot.  The adventures begin.  From checking out the scenery from the (frozen) water, learning about Vermont's sugaring history, introducing Patrick to trains, raking leaves, getting Patrick his first suit (of many), teaching Patrick to fish, and w...

Almost thirteen years ago we moved into our newly built house and began settling into all the grand new spaces.  We filled the kitchen with new dishes, pots and pans, and all the tools needed to feed and entertain family and friends.  We brought in new furniture and several pieces of the old, and organized things based on how we expected to use the space. One room has taken different forms over these twelve years.  First, it was a playroom lined with shelves filled with books, tubs of toys, and lots of Playmobil.  Eventually, the books took over and the Playmobil was put into longterm storage for...the next generation.  Books lined the shelves for a long time but, eventually, they started to give way to music and instruments. Alas, now even the music is ready to be replaced.  Patrick's musical days have transitioned from drumming and guitars and contrabass and...to mostly guitar (with a little drumming on occasion).  And the shelves full of old she...