William turns 6 in Sweden!

It seems like just yesterday when we were celebrating William's 5th birthday in Atlanta at Chuck E Cheese and getting ready to move to Sweden. Now we have settled into our new home and William is a year older!















It was amazing to me how many of his new friends were able to come to Nickies (Stockholm's version of Monkey Joe's). It was a treat to have his party on his actual birthday even though we were sad that dad was traveling to Barcelona that week. I was able to send Dwight photos and video using Ericsson phones and networks so he got to "experience" it virtually.





William had a wonderful time jumping with all his school mates. As the kids were all sitting down to eat rice crispy treats with orange spinkles (by request from William), I was amazed to see 25 children from 17 different countries! They all were chatting in English which is a second language for at least half the group and then I captured the kids singing the Swedish version of "Happy Birthday to You".

We will always remember his special birthday party in Sweden!

William skiing fast in Switzerland

Why are Europeans so pushy?

Trust me, being an American Ex-pat during the Bush administration was not the easiest thing in the world. People don't find out you are American and pat you on the back and say nice things about you. We take our fair share of criticism and some of it is probably deserved.

But one thing Americans DO that I like (scratch that....LOVE) is respect personal space.

We just got back from a great ski trip in Switzerand and if I have but one complaint, it is about the pushiness of people in mainland Europe. It doesn't matter if you are going to the restroom, getting on a plane, standing in line to get on a lift...Euros don't respect lines and they push to get everywhere. WHERE IS THE FIRE EUROPE?

The US may not have the charm of Europe, but one thing it has is convenience and ability to provide customers with personal space. It has been a long time since I had to litterally push someone back like I was in first grade, but that is what I found myself doing at the airport in Geneva. He didn't really seem to mind...and why should he? Pushing and shoving to get ahead in line seems to be the "norm" over here (I should make a footnote that Sweden does not fit into this category. As a rule the Swedes are far more orderly and respectful of lines than the rest of the continent).

And pushiness is not reserved for the young men...old ladies are particularly pushy. Would it be bad to give a forearm flipper to granny?

I suppose all these populous countries mashed up together causes some sort of "space issues" but whatever the reason, I don't like it.

Yes...Europe is charming and we love our time here, but all these "in a hurry Euros" could benefit from a week long "slow down and learn some manners camp." Americans are often criticized for not being well-traveled. I must say that most of these push Euros have either never been to the US or they find some manners before they come over. I can't tell you without a doubt that if you tried to push your way to the front of the line at the Atlanta DMV or maybe at the Silver Skillet you would get your @ss whipped real fast.