An Ode to Some Heroes of Our Trip: The Molenaar Family and Emily Abbott

As you will have gathered from reading my previous posts, traveling Europe with two little ones is not easy. Yes, I know, cry me a river and all that, but it's pretty easy to start feeling isolated, somewhat helpless, and really exhausted. It is in this context that two shining beacons, two givers of care to weary travelers, two heroes if you will (or rather, one hero and one group of heroes) bear mention.

Dirk Molenaar and his family (wife Marina and children David (5) and Noa (3) - forgive me for any misspellings), who live near Rotterdam, did an almost unthinkable, profoundly generous deed: they invited a scruffy family with two cranky toddlers over to invade their home for an afternoon of entertainment. What, you might wonder, does an afternoon of fun consist of in the Molenaar family? Upon arrival, the kids were lavished with gifts and plates of unregulated candy/cookies (we brought a couple of lame bottles of wine). After Cory and Addy had been given enough time to ransack David and Noa's gorgeous pretend food store (hand crafted, I might add, by their Grandfather) like an American Midwest-style tornado, we hopped onto bikes for a trip to the lovely local beach. The Molenaars had not only kindly borrowed two bikes from neighbors on our behalf, but also then provided all of us with appropriate clothes (when we were told we might go to the beach, we thought warm/bathingsuits, somehow forgetting our North Atlantic locale). And in just one more act of good will among many, Dirk rode the bike with the two bike seats containing Cory (in back) and Addy (in front - mom, i hear your hear heart palpitations all the way around the world) because neither Rob nor I was brave enough to do it. After the beach, we took a short bike ride to see ships entering the opening of the port of Rotterdam, an awesome sight. We were then treated to a really wonderful and touching Dutch dinner, the most memorable part of which (aside from great company, of course) was a stack of about 5 million pancakes prepared ahead of time by the food stand-crafting grandpa, whom we sadly never met. On our way out the door, Marina handed Cory the book on airplanes and airports he had been reading, and which Rob and I have now been attempting to translate for many nights - foreign language or no, he loves it! We took numerous photos on our trip to Southern Holland, but we sadly lost them today when we left our diaper bag and disposable camera within on the subway (I'm saying someone swiped it, but I fear I just left it). However, a lack of photos should not be confused with a lack of gratitude. Thank you Dirk, Marina, David, and Noa - you gave us a day to remember, and your kindness is moving beyond words.

Now for hero number three. If you ever happen to need to ship two ginormous suitcases full of clothes to someone's WORK address in Barcelona, have someone to pester with annoying logistics questions, vet your possible apartment choices, and do it through hilarious emails all the while, please DO NOT contact Emily Abbott in Barcelona - she's OURS! It's indicative that she brought a box of delicious chocolates to her own thank you dinner. She even ate the undercookeed (once oven baked, twice microwaved) chicken with a smile on her face (no wise comments, Jill!). Emily is the sister/sister-in-law of two of Rob's fabulous ex-parishioners, Jessica and Henry Abbott, and she is, simply put, a joy. We are tickled to now be in the same city as she is, and look forward to many, many more laughter filled evenings. Thanks, Emily, for helping to make this trip happen and for keeping smiles on our faces!

There are of course many other people who bear thanking - Jill, you know we worship at your altar when we're not making fun of you! - and you'll be hearing from us on the blog as time goes by.

Matt and Rob