TWENTY YEARS!!!

That's right. Today we have lived in Brussels for 20 years. And we plan to do some major celebrating. The main event is a week-end in Paris...yes, again! I already told Natalie I found 19 euro tickets on Thalys to Paris. So that is only 38 euros round trip. What a deal. Then you book a hotel on Priceline (we got the Marriott!), and viola, you have a super, fun, but affordable week-end.
I asked Tom for some of his 'HIGH' points for Belge living:
1)Church bells
2)Restaurants
3)Sights and Cultures
4)Mild weather
5)Traveling
6)Living Allowance
7)Belgian Chocolates
8)Downtown
9)Domus
10)Strength of Belgian members
And to make 20 let me add:
11)Forest behind the house
12)Tervuren Lake
13)Walking and biking paths
14)Everything is Green, never need to water
15)Clay courts (tennis)
16)20euro Dr. visits, and Dr. will make home visits
17)metro to town, Eurostar to London, Thalys to Paris, and RyanAir
18)Kinepolis
19)Belge antiques
20)Bus #616 to the airport
21)yearly ski trips
22)johanesberry jam on fabulous Millet bread....oops, hard to stop!

We were here for the fall of the Berlin Wall in Nov 1989. Also the change to the Euro in 2000. We loved the International Ward, but are finding we are more useful being interspersed with the Belgian wards. Over the past 20 years there has been a constant flow of people in (new friends! fun!) and out (saying good-bye to dear friends is tough!) of our lives. And there are some complaints. Or should I say 'low-points'
1)Plumbing back-ups
2)flooding in the basement every home leave
3)exchange rate
4)road construction
5)yield to the right
6)when kids graduate, they don't get to come home until Christmas
7)you have to fly to see family
8)blew up lots of stuff b/c of the 220V
9)hard to get drivers license for kids
10)low pay summer hire
11)my car wreck on the ring
12)Aaron flying through the sliding glass door
13)moss
14)4 seasons in one day (although it can sure be interesting)

I do have to include WHY I loved raising our family here:
1)All kids went to the same school, which meant catching one bus! One school schedule!
2)Activity bus
3)Graduate in the Town Hall (all but Dan)
4)No driving until 18!
5)once in the week Seminary, never had to do early morning (I would move here just for that!)
6)Yearly Senior dance
7)Sports
8)yearly ski vacations
9)lots of family holidays
10)Fiedler and Carmone
11)Senior trips: Egypt, China and South Africa
12)many week-ends the kids stayed home and were fine with it
13)Quiet Sundays
14)all the kids had super friends from super families

Twenty years. Who would have dreamed?