very absent(ee)

Hello once again from jolly old England. Brenda's parents headed back home on Saturday after spending a wonderful week and a half with us. We always have a great time with them, but this visit had the added benefit of making my stay-at-home dad duties much easier. Rowan had an absolute blast with his grandparents. They taught him a lot of songs, introduced him to some new toys, and spent a lot of time playing with him. I'm sure he's already looking forward to seeing them again when we're back in the U.S. next month.

On Sunday Brenda and I changed apartments. (We just can't stand being in one place for more than a couple of weeks.) Much like the old place, our new flat is in a residential area, close to a park, and very comfortable. When I imagined us being in London, for some reason I thought we'd be eating scones everyday while staring out the window at Big Ben. My semester in London during law school was actually kind of like that. Our classes were held smack dab in the middle of the city, just a block away from the British Museum, so I had a daily reminder of where I was. This time, however, we're living in a residential area that isn't very close to the city center so it feels like we could be anywhere. Today I even went grocery shopping at the nearby Lidl, which is a German grocery store chain. I could take Rowan to the heart of London one day so we could do some sightseeing, but he sleeps and eats quite often and gets rather cranky when either of those things doesn't happen. I'd better stick around this neighborhood and see if I can find a place that sells good scones.

I don't know if you've heard, but there's an election coming up in the U.S. and since Brenda and I are tax-paying, freedom-loving Americans (I just fired off a couple shots from my gun for effect. Wait, is that legal here?) we want to vote in it. We've voted absentee before, but that was from our apartment in Germany. This time we're attempting to get our ballots sent to an Airbnb apartment in London. Living a nomadic lifestyle is complicated.

Our new flat doesn't have a dishwasher so I've got work to do before bed. I hope you all have a great week, and we'll talk to you next Tuesday!