2024

This year the days often started the same way: taking Lily to Kita (kindergarten). While she spent her mornings there, I taught English, worked on a new skill, and Indra got a much-needed break. Unfortunately, Kita closures were frequent, and Lily often couldn’t go due to infections she caught there. 

Lily's recovery journey has continued, though, with physiotherapy helping her strengthen neglected muscles. She hadn’t learned to crawl and was already trying to walk, but one arm had started to atrophy from using the other to scoot around. 

Switching to a specialized burn center also made a huge difference. They offered better fittings for her compression clothing and taught us new techniques for her care. While transferring there during the skin transplant process would have been a nightmare, the difference in expertise is undeniable.

Lily gets regular updates to her compression clothing, valued at over 1,000 euros per outfit. Because of the cost and the strain on our insurance provider, which is burdened by its primarily elderly clientele, authorization delays have meant her outfits almost don't fit anymore by the time we get them. It's a frustrating downside to a healthcare system that otherwise provides so much, like Pflegegeld (care money), a monthly sum we could have applied for from the start—if anyone had told us we were eligible!

Through it all, Lily’s grandpa Frank has been our rock. He makes long trips to watch her, giving us much-needed breaks. On his birthday, he didn’t hesitate to take her back to Bochum for a weekend—a trip he seemed as excited about as she was!

These breaks also gave Indra and me the chance to carve out time for each other. One of the most relaxing days was when Lily was at Kita, and we went to the sauna and had a fantastic lunch at an unexpectedly great restaurant in Edeka. Another favorite was hiking in Grafenberger Wald. We’ve done it before, but it’s probably the best outdoor spot in Düsseldorf, complete with a wild animal park that’s free to visit.

Family time is always special, and we make the most of it. Our Ruhrtop card, a 50-euro discount pass that pays for itself in just a few activities, got us free entry to places like the Dortmunder Zoo.

A week in the Netherlands brought some much-needed rest and fun: swimming, biking, and playing games like Saboteur. We also indulged in a giant fish-and-chips meal at a café, enjoyed time at the park with Lily, and went on bike rides through the peaceful countryside.

Other highlights included a balloon museum trip with Indra’s parents and some friends, and upgrading our car to a Renault Grand Scenic. The hatchback wasn’t cutting it anymore, so we found one for 16k at a dealership—only to discover and purchase the same car for 11k at another dealership the next day. It even had better mileage!

This year brought personal milestones, too. Gardening on our balcony took off, with dwarf tomato plants and raspberries thriving in their small space. Next year, I plan to grow more berries and spread out the strawberry plants.

The big hobby this year, though, was programming—with Indra as my digital artist! After many failed attempts to learn coding, AI tools finally helped me break through. Of course, I still had to solve countless challenges, like figuring out why canvases glitch, learning demanding animation techniques, and setting up in-game stores for real-world currency. Programming health bars and using cameras sometimes took days of trial and error. I also learned the value of backup projects—after one update broke everything, transferring files to a fresh project was my only solution. As for the massive time requirements, I was pleased to learn that my daughter can play on her own!

After finishing my first game, Idle Magic Defense (see my completed apps here) a half a year after starting, I jumped into my second project, Life Abroad. Only a couple months later, I had gained production access for Life Abroad, a much faster process compared to my first game. Later in December, I began work on my new game, Fernweh.

Attending Gamescom in Cologne, the biggest gaming convention in the world, was another major highlight. Networking and promoting my work there left me inspired for what’s next.

There was also plenty of adventure. A bike ride with the Kalaidians gave us a chance to enjoy the outdoors, and a Kräutertour (wild plant tour) with Indra’s parents—despite us battling colds—was a great way to relax with family and learn something new. At the Kölner Zoo, we spent a meaningful day with other parents of severely burned children, sharing experiences while the kids enjoyed the animals.

The year’s end felt extra special, from a Thanksgiving dinner with a couple friends who are getting married, to a meaningful gathering with a student and his son - an opportunity we were glad to have after years of teaching them English.

This year also brought some big moments. Applying for German citizenship felt like an important step in building our future here. And then there was our trip to the USA, a highlight of the year.

We reconnected with family and old friends, paddled to a beaver dam, and even had a wild day of road rage and tubing. My dad stood up to a road-raging lunatic who later called the cops on us, but the matter was resolved before we enjoyed an afternoon on the lake—until the tube ripped during one of my dad’s signature maneuvers!

There were quieter moments, too, like meals at our favorite restaurants and catching up with old friends over hikes. We even managed a few practical stops, like getting Lily’s social security number and clarifying tax details with the IRS—proving that I am me and now live in Germany.

Looking back, it’s been a full year with plenty of family, friendship, and finding joy in the small things.