Impending Change

As I continue to pack my life into boxes I keep thinking about how different daily life will be in Greece. The pace of things at home won't change too much because of the kids but the pace of things outside of the home will definitely change. I will need to adapt to the schedules and shops in Greece in order to get things done because hardly anything is open all day whereas here I can go almost any time and get anything done. In most instances it won't be a huge deal because I usually schedule my errands for late morning. McDonald's drive thru is always great for those days because I finish my errands right around lunch time. There is a McDonald's (no kidding, right?) but there is no drive thru. I will just have to plan better so that I have something for the kids to eat after we are finished running errands. I will also have to satisfy my Starbucks craving by actually walking into the store and ordering my coffee, instead of using the drive thru. OK, I only use the Starbucks drive thru about once a week, most of my other visits are normally by foot. But you've got to love that Starbucks drive thru!
I will need to figure out where I can take the kids to do fun things. I don't have a problem with that here because the list of things for kids to do is endless. We do something extra special at least once a week. The museum has free admission for Milwaukee County residents on Mondays, the children's museum, local pet shops, the library and our local parks are all on our list of favorite places to do fun things. We visit the zoo monthly. The kids never tire of that! I think that it will be fun finding the fun things to do together in Greece because I will be discovering new things along with them.
There is also one thing different that I just have to mention. I am so not looking forward to this part, especially as an American, but here it is...you can't flush toilet paper down the toilet. Yes, there it is. I remember the first time that I visited Greece with Kosta and he told me that I couldn't flush the paper in the toilet. I must have looked like a deer caught in headlights. I was grossed out and I still am. I have spent the past 2 years teaching Izabella that the paper goes in the toilet and now I will have to teach her that it goes into the waste basket next to the toilet. She is in for some confusion now! :) This part of my life is probably going to be the most difficult for me to cope with because it's just stinky. I will manage and I will get over it. Yes, I change diapers day in and day out but it's a totally different thing. There is really nothing like American life and its conveniences especially when it comes to the bathroom. We love our clean, potpourri filled bathrooms and that is all there is to it. It is obvious since I started writing about how differently things will be done in Greece and my mind kept bringing my back to the bathroom issue.-Aside from that, there are so many welcome changes. The holidays, the "misi-meri" (aka siesta), the food, the passion for life, the weather and the scenery. I can't wait to see how things will unfold once we get there and get settled.