One Month On My Own

HI!

If you are reading this blog, I want to firstly thank you for taking the time to do so.  I also want this to be a healthy relationship so you should probably know what you are in for.  This is my first blog post and unless Oprah calls, it may be my last.  Part of this idea to move home to New Zealand for 6 months with my kids was born from a need to do something different.  I am not good with the unknown or the unfamiliar.  And I have been gone a LONG time.  I have never “adulted” here so there is more that is unfamiliar about my life here than familiar.  So why not blog too?  And it will cut down on the international texting.  There have been more than a few “HOW ARE YOU DOING?”  In the essence of honesty, there has been one breakdown of the crying in the dark variety but that is long(one week)behind me.  And it only lasted through two glasses of delicious New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc…

One month ago today, the kids and I drove Jeff to the airport.  It was the moment we had all been dreading since we arrived 12 days before.  He was leaving me to get on with this temporary life in my homeland with more belief in my abilities than I could ever have.  He knew I could do it.  I wasn’t so sure.  After the kids got back in the car, I got to say my goodbye that would have been very dramatic had it not been for those little tear stained faces watching our every move.  So I gave my guy one more hug and kiss and said something wildly inappropriate in his ear that made him laugh out loud(the desired outcome) and he was gone.

We promptly drove straight to a stationary shop to buy a calendar so the kids could all take turns marking off each day until he returns to us.  37 days and we are all counting.

6 days after we arrived in New Zealand, my 3 kids started school(Poppy for the very first time).  The first day nerves were definitely there with Poppy practicing her teachers name all the way down the hill and Emma and Tate quiet(SO not normal).  One month in to their school life here and I can tell you they love it.  If I do decide to blog more, there will be a more in depth post on the differences between their school in America and the perceived differences here(there are many).

They have each made friends and tried new things and new sports and new food.  They are thriving in the “newness” and they inspire me to welcome the unfamiliar in to my world more easily.

“We cannot stay home all our lives.  We must present ourselves to the world and we must look upon it as an adventure.”

Beatrix Potter