1) I Can still Speak German and 2) Raising Girls is Hard

1. Today I was at the grocery store and I met a really cool lady. She was speaking in German on her cell phone. She was in a wheel chair and without thinking (I do a lot without thinking!) I pointed to the cans that she was glancing up at asked her, "Mag ich Sie helfen?" (May I help you?) The lady burst out laughing and told her friend that she'd call her back. It was a simple conversation but she made me keep speaking and I realized how much I knew, not just of what I understood but what was still in my memory from being an exchange student (she was born in the same city!) I told her that I missed Germany and she said that I can meet her for coffee and she will help me. I am so thrilled! She gave me her email and her grand daughter who is my age told me to please email her, the family didn'tpick up her German and she really wants to share her skill. She said that in what I used that I still have my southern German accent. That means nothing and if it's acouthern drawl, it's probably not that great, but it's special to me! I am so happy!

2) My 12 year old, Cloud, is boy crazy. My eldest daughters, who never realy hit this because at her age we were fighting my ex for custody and they were just trying to keep themselves together to have a say with the judge, who resisted my attempts at relgion, are now telling me to adhere to all that we know that is religious. My eldest responds to her in Proverbs. My second eldest tells her how much she loves reading God's word. If I didn't have children, I'd be Jewish. My daughters say, "We don't have a synagogue within affordable driving distance. Use what you have." They seem to think that my Cloud is destined to get pregnant before her 16th birthday. This is not what I signed up for.