The Old Mom

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I am now the old mom with BIG kids.

When did this happen? I see it. I know it. But it’s still hard to believe and I love this stage and I love my kids and danced around the kitchen in my jammies this morning, singing to them, “All you need is love.” I know they think I’m crazy yet luckily they laughed and thought I was funny and little do they know how much I adore them. I am so in love with my teens and almost tween and love this stage of life. I know they’ll be leaving soon and I am enjoying every minute with them, so be it.

I read the BEST parenting article today by one of my favorite authors, Jen Hatmaker, that made me cry. Check her out here:

http://community.today.com/parentingteam/post/i-wish-someone-wouldve-warned-me-about-these-big-feelings

You’ll cry too, because she’s funny, real, authentic, and totally gets this parenting thing like no one else. And she loves women too, just like me and wants to lift each other up and support one another and buy each other wine and high five each other at Target when the littles are throwing temper tantrums.I love her and so does everyone else. She gets life and is really funny.

I love being a mom. It’s what I always wanted to be when I grew up. I wanted to be financially independent, knowing I could take care of myself and my family if I had to, and then I wanted to stay at home and raise our babies. Here I am. Living the dream. I love what I do, despite the stress and chaos and craziness that surrounds me some days.

I love being in the car with them and their friends and taking them to and from – most days! Last week, was another story, but today I was good. I took Juliana to her ortho appointment and then we went to get a bubble tea and fried snacks because that sounded like fun to them after school. I didn’t want to be busy. I wanted to soak them in and spoil them while I can. I always struggle with that – not wanting to spoil them and wanting to spoil them at the same time. They were thankful and we had fun together.

When we came home, Juliana was busy tutoring a little girl so Charlie and I went to hide away in his “apartment.” We sat on his couch and ate our snacks and played Mastermind together, which brought back memories for me when my dad and I used to play together. We are usually running around with way too much to do, and yet today we slowed down and just played. Can I even tell you how sweet this was? I am so thankful that Juliana needed a quiet house and that Charlie and I got to hide away together for an hour.

I know I’m writing a lot – but seriously, I really do like and enjoy my kids and today was one of those BIG FEELINGS days. We were at a funeral on Friday, and at a Special Needs Brunch on Sunday and I am still missing Chase every day and am fully aware that life is fleeting and messy so while it’s good, I plan to love on them and live it up every day while I can.

Charlie made me cry tonight when he decided to make dinner for himself and Christian. He wanted special plates to make the meal look fancy. We cooked tempura shrimp and he molded rice in little cups to neatly place on the special plates. He placed the shrimp in a star pattern and used a brush to place the sauce decoratively on the plate. He was so proud of himself and served his brother in his room, while he studied. He was like a little, proud, Master Chef, Jr. I loved this connection and loved that they share this bond together.

This old mom is content. Life is good and IS what you make it to be and I’m okay with things changing and aging. I am living it up today and everyday and loving this one life right now. And you? Are you living it up and loving it out wherever you are right now?

Namaste.

12Mar2015

Community Connections and Friendship

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Today was filled with love.

I started the day with a special breakfast at Charlie’s school, called Moments with Moms. It was my last one as Charlie is graduating this year, so it was extra special. I loved sitting with him and his friends and mine, soaking it all in and enjoying every minute and all the kids and moms and teachers and principal.

I love our school and our international community and my baby boy. I was filled with joy.

After breakfast and doing a few chores, I went to meet my volleyball girls out on the grass for some outdoor volleyball fun. I hadn’t been out for over a month, since I’ve been fighting pain in my neck and back. I received an “internal memo” from our team captain, who always makes us laugh with her spirit and creativity. She pretends that we are an official team and sends out weekly reminders of upcoming events and helps to coordinate our schedules and encourages us to get outside and play. I adore her! Here is what her memo stated:

Internal Memo To: A. Hartley

From: WBVC Management

Regarding: The Hartley Shuffle aka Happy Dance

Dear Ms. Hartley,

Please be reminded that according to your contractual agreement with the WBVC you will need to ensure that you

fulfill your 2015 public appearance schedule and perform your signature move “the Hartley Shuffle”

aka “Happy Dance”(listed per your, “Publicity Branding”) as specified in the language found in paragraph 4, addendum 23.8.

We are currently renegotiating our sub leases and incentives with our DVD sponsorship and we need to ensure that “the Hartley Shuffle” will be performed during the high season. Therefore,you will need to rehab your shoulder in short order and provide a timetable for your future appearances.

For your reference note that as per the contract, “Player will cooperate with the news media, and will participate upon request in reasonable activities to promote the Club and the League.”

The Top 7 Sports Signature Moves:

1.) Colin Kaepernick’s “Bicep Kiss”

2.) Dennis Rodman’s “Jersey Toss”

3.) Jason Kidd “Blows a Kiss”

4.) The Bash Brothers’ “Forearm Smash”

5.) Deion Sanders’ “Prime Time Dance”

6.) Lebron James’ “Powder Toss”

7.) Adriana Hartley’s “the Hartley Shuffle”

Thank you,

The WBVC Management

The shortened version of this memo from M and others reads, where is Adriana and how did that happy dance go? We need

the happy dance back to which management was requested to send a memo asap. BTW All members reading said memo should attend all practices weekly as your schedule permits.

It was soooo good to be out on the field again with my friends, playing in the sunshine, sharing stories and catching up while working out with my girls. I was nervous at first to play again, and was on the injured list, which gave me a few privileges, such as extra serves. After about an hour or so, I warmed up and the pain was less. I was so happy that N encouraged me to come out and play again, as this made me very happy.

The rest of the day was filled with catching up with laundry and work, before getting ready for the potluck dinner with our Japanese students and host families back at school. Every family brought something to share, which made for a fabulous dinner. We made bagel pizza bites and the girls made gluten free chocolate frosted cupcakes.

The Japanese students provided entertainment that made me very happy.

My favorite part of the night was watching. The kids perform. The Japanese kids practiced their English, acting as the MCs and directing the agenda for the evening. I loved the boys group dancing, the drama scene, the group song, and most especially watching Akie perform a solo ballet performance to my favorite Frozen tune, “Let it Go.”

She was absolutely stunning and beautiful and graceful. I was so proud of her (as my daughter!) I left from filming, saying to my friends, “that’s my girl!!.” They giggled.

Seeing and feeling the appreciation and gratitude and love between the students, the schools, and the families made my day.

This is truly a remarkable experience and I recommend hosting a foreign exchange student in your house, if you have the means. We are all loving her and sharing in this journey, creating connections and friendships that we would never have had otherwise.

I am thankful!!

10Mar2015

My New “Daughter”

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I feel like I have another child, in a good way.

Akie has become part of our family now. She is comfortable asking for what she wants and shares in our activities. She is loving and kind and polite and I adore her.

Today when I picked my girls up from school (I always wanted Juliana to have a sister!), they both wanted to go to a birthday party for their Japanese friend at the park.

We have a google group between the parents of host families and I had read about the party invitation from the host mom this morning. She was bringing chocolate cake and drinks and all were invited to attend. I was happy for our family to be part of the celebration and so we brought a gift and some food to share and off we went. I love kids of all ages. I especially loved walking up to the park and seeing small Japanese children under the age of 5, playing with and teasing our students. At first, I wondered if they were siblings of one of the host families. I quickly realized that there were young, Japanese moms playing with their little kids at the park, and the little kids made a connection with our “real” Japanese teenagers. There was a natural connection for them and the little kids and big kids were all playing and having fun together, chasing and tagging and running around together. I loved this moment and realized that there is a natural comfort in the familiar that we all share.

We sang “Happy Birthday” and the birthday girl blew out her candles. I hope she enjoyed celebrating with us today as much as we did celebrating with her.

After the birthday party, I dropped off Charlie at his practice and brought the girls to Daiso, so that Akie could compare the Daiso in Cupertino to the Daiso in Japan. They were both relatively the same, of course. We also drove by the Apple Headquarters campus that is being built and tried to use English words to describe headquarters. What words would you use? I think she understood.

Tonight I decided I didn’t want to cook and clean again, especially because we had a very busy day. I hosted a tea party for several friends this morning and had been busy all day, with no time to cook. We decided to go out for American fast food at Taco Bell, instead of eating left overs. She picked what looked good from the picture menu displayed and we ordered a couple other things for her to try. She really liked her steak burrito and the nachos. She tried the mild sauce and it was pretty spicy for her. This is why we chose Taco Bell over Chipotle, because she doesn’t care for spicy food. It was fun to see Taco Bell through the eyes of someone new. Even the girl working behind the counter was intrigued by our new “daughter.”

The girl behind the counter came over to my side of the counter to ask me a question. She wanted to know if she could give Akie a hug, because she had never met a Japanese girl before and she was so curious and happy to see her. I told her that in Japan, there isn’t a lot of hugging and kissing and that this would be uncomfortable for her. Having a stranger ask for a hug would be weird in any culture, but I could tell that she genuinely was wanting to see her and connect with her. As we ate, I told Akie about the strange request. As we left the establishment, I introduced Akie to the girl and they bowed to one another. This was a really cool moment. I wish you could have seen it. Love sees no color.

Today was busy and rewarding. I learned a lot again, even in Taco Bell.

How was your day?

9Feb2015

Good Night. Be Well. You’re Welcome.

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These are some of my favorite simple sayings.

When you say “good night” to someone, do you mean it? What does it mean to you? “Good night” is a way of closing a conversation and wishing the other person a nice end to their day. It represents closure and peace and rest when I think of it literally. When I texted a good night message to L and she texted me back, saying “good night. hope you sleep well.” I felt like we exchanged hugs and good byes and we were done for the day.

“Be well” is another expression that I like, and may have mentioned this one before. Instead of saying “Have a nice day,” which is another way of saying “so long, farewell… as you leave me, I hope that you will be well and happy.” Simplified, we could just say “Be well.” I love this.

I love the simple gesture of recognizing someone’s gratitude by saying the more formal and simple, “You’re welcome.” By saying “You’re Welcome” to their “Thank you”, you close the gap between the two of you. I love this. It provides a closed connection that feels balanced. This is much better than the “Uh-huh” or “Sure. No problem.” I have to remember this little gift.

All of these expressions provide points of connection between two people. By communicating with these words, we are able to acknowledge one another in a way that says, “I see you.” and “I appreciate you.” and “I like you.”

Namaste, BeLoveRs. Good night. Be well. And thank you for sharing this wonderful life journey together. xo

p.s. Do you know what the opposite of a salutation is called? Neither did I. It is called a valediction. A valediction is the action of saying farewell. Ha! We or I learned something new today. We just practiced new valedictions. Goodbye. 🙂

12Jan2015

There is Something Good

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I believe there is something good in everything. We might not always recognize what goodness is hidden in the moment, but usually we can see it when we allow ourselves to open up to the possibility of hidden nuggets behind our own perceptions, if we can pause to focus and be grateful for what is right despite the injustices that we feel.

Last week at dinner, Charlie was struggling to see the good in his big brother. He kept using BIG words like always, never, every time, and so forth to describe the behaviors that were bugging him. He was rightfully frustrated and kept labeling his experiences with these words. He wasn’t feeling so good and I sensed a downward spiral that I didn’t like.

I wanted to teach him empathy. I wanted to teach him to see the good despite the struggle. I wanted to teach him that things aren’t always as bad as they seem. I wanted to teach him gratitude for all that is good and to recognize the conflict that was creating such frustration for him. I wanted to protect him as he slung angry words so that he could hear the real, important message and I wanted to validate his feelings despite being frustrated and I didn’t want to react to his negative reactions. I wanted to help manage expectations. This was a complicated challenge and I was thankful for our family dinner time to be together and to work through the conflict so that we could get back to our roots.

At first it was hard to hear each other. Charlie taught me 7-11, the mindfulness technique to slow down and breathe for seven seconds and then blow out for eleven seconds. We practice this together when conversations start to get heated. I like to be as close to neutral as possible with our emotions so that we can hear each other and negotiate a fair solution. Eventually we got there. He was frustrated and expressed his concerns. I listened. And then I shared with him a story about how I used to label people a certain way when they frustrated me. I told him that the more I called someone something mean, the meaner they became. They lived up to my expectation and I was successful at not liking them, but I was sad because I loved them and wanted to like them. I didn’t like creating monsters from my perceptions and I had to fight against the labels to make the monsters go away. I had to see the good in them when I didn’t want to, and I had to keep fighting to see their value instead of what bugged me. I told him instead of seeing what was wrong with the other person, I tried to find 5 things I liked about them despite the things that bugged me. It worked. It works every time with those I wish to have positive relations because I choose to focus on the good so that I can scare the monsters away and catch them being great. I challenged Charlie.

I asked him to think about what he liked about his big brother and to share with us 5 things. He was mad at me and I pushed him a little harder. He chose sarcasm as his weapon. His first response was that he liked his brother because he was a boy. His second response was that he was tall. I told him that these didn’t count. He had to use his imagination to think of what things his brother did that he really enjoyed. And then he practiced 7-11 and began again, because he knew he had to answer eventually and he really doesn’t like long, drawn out conversations over dinner. As he began, he shared really nice things such as his brother letting him in his room, and how his brother lets him play Minecraft with him, and how he lets him hang out with his friends. And as he shared, his tone began to change. He started to believe himself and he was right. He liked the things that were good more than he didn’t like the things that were wrong. He was able to see that his brother wasn’t always, never, ever and etcetera. He saw the good. This created a connection and both boys were content. Apologies were shared for the actions that created the conflict and resolutions were made.

This took time. It wasn’t easy. Yet we took the time to listen, to validate, to redirect, to be empathetic, to hear each other and to not be defensive. We protected each other and avoided accusations and instead used words such as “I don’t like it when…” and “I feel… when you…” and it was no longer feelings of personal attacks and people feeling like they had to hold on to their positions. It was actually pretty cool. Our family focus is on connections and not conflict and to love one another despite any struggles. We kept bringing the conversation back to the center and the end result was success and we picked up where we left off and cleared the dishes.

So fast forward to today when after school, the boys chose to play basketball together and Charlie let his big brother be the coach that he wanted to be. The two played and enjoyed each other’s company and I was proud of their connection.

Wishing you the power to always find connections despite the conflicts you are faced and the strength to persevere. There’s always something good.

Namaste.

23Oct2014

Social Media and Connections

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I obviously love social media, as I write daily to share my life and to connect with you. I love that I have a platform where we can share ideas and learn from one another, and I love when you click the like button or actually take the time to submit your name and email address and leave a comment, which takes 10 seconds at least and you’re busy, I know, which makes me appreciate you even more. When you write, I see you. I love this part of writing. I don’t really see you, but I see that you liked something that I shared and you validated me and I get to think of you. It’s kind of a cool virtual exchange that means something to me. Thank you for that.

I don’t typically promote my blog, but last night I decided to link my post to my Facebook page, because I was proud of my parents and wanted others who might not know that I write, to have a chance to meet them via my writing.

65 people clicked on my link from Facebook and maybe they even read it. I was impressed that this many people were curious and took the time to venture over to a new window to check out my blog. Thank you!

On my personal Facebook wall, 82 friends liked my post and 7 friends left a comment and 3 friends shared my link. Can I just tell you how good this feels? You like me. I like you. I love us!!

One friend tonight mentioned that she didn’t click “like” on my status because she saw so many other people had already liked it and didn’t think it would make a difference whether she clicked or not, because she said there were already so many likes and what is one more.

I told her that I look at every name that shows up on my screen and think of each person individually. I literally do.

I see the 3 most recent friends that liked what I shared and a link that says “and 79 others.” I click the link to the 79 others and read through each name on the list and think and pray for each of those who chose to connect with me. My prayer is a moment to remember you and to think of something positive about you and I am grateful that we had a shared moment, even if it is just through social media.

We live busy lives and sometimes we live far away from each other, but we find ways to connect however we can and make the world a better place because of the love and likeness we share for each other. That’s a good thing.

So thank you, for reading and sharing and posting and loving and living it up, every day, BeLoveRs! xoxo

15Jan2014

Old Friends

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What is it about old friends that makes you smile and happy?

My old friend, Jeni, was In town tonight on a business trip and we had several hours to catch up. I haven’t seen her in several years, yet seeing her again made me so happy. She provides a link between the new me and the old me and she made it feel like no time had passed at all. She reminds me of a time when I had no responsibilities and ate lots of junk food and laughed all the time and had silly nicknames and when we danced to Madonna over and over again on my boom box. We were young and we really knew how to play and live in the moment.

We looked at old yearbooks and letters and cards and shared stories of a time long ago. This was comforting to me. We shared stories of our present married lives and being mothers and her working life. There were connections between our past and our present, and I enjoyed the comfort and familiarity that you get from a shared history and remembrance. I’m glad I held on to all the mementos and got to share memories and stories with my old friend.

I wish the same for you and if you are lucky enough to have an old friend or two, take the time to reconnect. I’m sure it’ll be good for your souls and make you feel young again.

Namaste.

4Dec2013

Connecting the Dots

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I love facebook and social media. I love learning and connecting and knowing what people are doing and thinking about and am curious about what they share and why they share what they share and how they’re feeling. I love people and I love that sometimes what others share inspires me and opens up my world to thoughts and ideas and feelings I might not have come across.

I can get lost in the connections that come from one post, that link me to a cool article, that links me to a brilliant author, that brings me to a personal website or blog or pinterest to see their interests and I want to know more, and then back to scrolling through facebook status updates again. This probably happens every day. Does this happen to you?

My favorite thoughts this week were sparked from a facebook status update posted by Cassia Cogger. She shared a link to the Good Life Project that was started by Jonathan Fields and I’m just in awe. This guy gets it. And the stories he is sharing, especially the one from Christina Rasmussen today, are the golden tickets. She talks about how to reclaim your life after experiencing loss, and how everyone experiences loss. She is brilliant. You’ll want to check out her beautiful soul, and leave the “waiting room” as soon as possible. I love when people can use beautiful, simple words and imagery to really describe our experiences that we don’t always know how to label.

My other favorite link I discovered this week came from a facebook status update from one of my Stella & Dot connections. She shared a link to an article posted on the Good Men Project blog about 25 Rules for Moms with Sons that was brilliant too. I hand wrote all her rules down, because when I write with a pen the information somehow seems to feel more important and the process of writing helps me to really think about the words more deeply. She has so many good tips to share and I’ve already started practicing some of these with my sons. Take a peek.

And I’ll leave you with a quote from Tabitha Studer’s rules about teaching your son to read that made me wonder and maybe understand why it is I keep writing every night. Thanks for sharing the journey and reading along with me. I hope you feel inspired and connected too. xo

“…writing words down is a way to be present forever. Writers are transcribers of history and memories. They keep a record of how we lived at that time; what we thought was interesting; how we spoke to each other; what was important. And Readers help preserve and pass along those memories.”

22Aug2013

Love and Responsibility

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Here I Am.

I Am still writing.

I Am curious.

I Am learning and sharing and connecting and I’ve discovered I actually like writing.

Today I feel like I have a responsibility to write about love and compassion. I wonder if that’s why I’m still writing even after my journey abroad is over.

I hear all the messages about being the change you want to see in the world and I hope that my one way of living and writing is a testament to love and compassion. I am not perfect. I just am.

I am sad today reading about the death of Chris Lane in Oklahoma at the hands of our youth who thought it was ok to kill someone because they were bored. What were they thinking and how were they raised? Who are their parents? What were they missing in their lives? What causes people to behave in such uncivilized ways in the land of opportunity? I have lots of questions. Why is someone bored at 17 and 18? Do something. Work. Volunteer. There is no reason to be bored. I could go on and on. Rest in peace, Chris and I wish your family and fiancé the strength to move through this next phase of life without you.

I am sad about the man with mental illness in Georgia who felt like he didn’t have a reason to live and wanted to die and almost killed others.

I am inspired by Antoinette Tuff, the woman who confronted the 20 year old and made a connection with him by sharing her struggles and survival story and offering love and compassion, despite the death threat facing her. She saved lives. She is a hero. She went above and beyond her job or her duty to save others. She put others first and saved not only her own life but those of others as well.

There are so many mixed views on politics, religion, race, gun control and mental illness, just to name a few of the hot topics that seem to divide us.

I wonder, maybe naively, what would happen if we went back to loving ourselves, loving each other, listening, strengthening our communities and our homes by being more loving and accepting and giving, despite our differences, what might happen. Would we change our story and create a different kind of history? I wonder. I wonder if kids had to work harder and did more chores and had more responsibilities and accountability if they would have more of a sense of purpose and feel more a part of their family and community. Hmm.

I wonder if we talked more about the things we have in common and the good we see in the world, if it would work like positive discipline. That is, if we see the good and focus on the good, we might tend to follow and mimic each other and keep creating good things. We’d reward and recognize and see the good in each other and the good in ourselves and create a better place. I wonder if that works. And what if the media focused on these stories instead of all the drama, if our collective story might change? Would that be possible? Hmm.

I wish I could change the world. For now, I choose love. I choose to notice the good and to continue to try to live the best life possible. Perfectly imperfectly. And hopefully my one life will make a difference.

Namaste.

10Apr2013

Day 259: 7 Ways We Quickly Settled as Expats.

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Now that we’ve been in Holland for 259 days, I’m realizing that there are several factors that helped us to feel settled living abroad rather quickly. Here are a few things that come to my mind.

1. We hired an excellent, personal, relocation manager. Lion helped us to pick our rental property that would suite our family best based on our needs. He did the walk through with the owner and got the keys before we arrived. He referred us to rental furniture companies and met them at our house to let them in and set up our furniture before we arrived. He was here to meet us at our front door the first day we arrived with our 15 suitcases. The day we arrived was so hot, that he arrived early and opened all the windows to air out the place. Once we got settled, he drove us to the grocery store so that we could have a few things our first day. He has supported us every step of the way, and has been very humble, kind and generous and a true help to us.

2. Our Dutch Relatives. My mother was born in the South of Holland and her cousins still live here. Jeff and I have good relations with them and have visited each other both in Holland and in the States several times. When we arrived, Gerard and Anita and Dorine and Nadja helped us to shop for hours and buy furniture and assemble it. We have been to each others homes for dinners and birthday parties and they made us feel welcome and a part of their families. We also were invited to Rio and Helma’s dairy farm and to spend time with them too. Franca and Henk came to see us, along with all their kids and everyone enjoyed chatting and playing and getting to know one another. When you’re far away from your own home, family and friends, having a new family to welcome you is the best feeling. We didn’t feel alone and it was comforting knowing that they knew the language, culture, norms and could help us navigate the process of getting transportation cards, and such, and could help us if an emergency occurred.

3. New Friends. One thing I love most to do is to connect people to friends and knowledge and to help one another. It’s what I used to do in a past life, and a skill that I think has helped me to find my way. I was able to meet and connect with friends through PEO, a philanthropic organization to which I belong. that supports, celebrates and motivates women to achieve their highest goals. A Dutch friend of mine who worked with me at Stella & Dot, introduced me to one of her friends who lives in my new home town. Before I moved, I had a Dutch coffee at my house and invited my Dutch friends over. One of them had a Dutch friend that worked in the US Consulate. Another one had a sister in law that lives in my new home town, who brought us a house plant once we got settled.

Our children’s school made it very easy for us to build a community of expat friends very quickly. Once the children started making friends, I was able to meet the moms and dads of their friends, and friendships were formed. We started sharing experiences and new relationships have grown. I love my new tribe and am so thankful for each and everyone of my new friends.

4. I filled my time doing things I love and got out of the house. I met people who played tennis and found a group of women to play with indoors and they connected me to the right people to take lessons and play in tournaments. I found yoga and yoga friends. I sought out a place to paddle board and met the owner of a Dutch company to paddle the canals with across Amsterdam. Now if the weather just warms up! I took up running with my husband, something I’ve always wanted to do, and now found the time and place. I went to all the social events I could the first few weeks at school to get out and see the town. The school is so good at making newcomers feel welcome, with coffees, and outings and having an open door where parents can sit and socialize while waiting for their kids. And as I started making friends, we’d have girls’ lunches, and girls’ nights out, dinner parties and happy hours, celebrated a baby being born, and birthdays and all that is good. Bottom line is I’ve stayed busy and productive and happy and love the friendships that have blossomed through all these shared events. I am so lucky and never am bored.

5. I have a very supportive partner. I probably don’t say enough about my husband, who works hard day and night, working to build his global business and support our family. He worked so hard behind the scenes to get us here, without a support staff to do all the work for him, as he works at a start up company, and they don’t have these type of resources. He researched everything, set up our legal documents, bank accounts, car transfer, cell phones, drivers’ licenses, cable and internet services, etc. all while setting up a European company. He is smart and loving and supports me and laughs with me and makes me coffee every morning! I am blessed.

6. Social Media & Technology. Having Facebook, Skype, Email, Google Voice, What’s App, Instagram, Magic Jack, my blog, Apple TV and a VPN have helped me to feel still connected to friends and family and America. I’m able to share and see and connect with those I love every day. When I feel lonely, I can always check in – just sometimes have to wait for the time zones to be in alignment where we’re both awake at the same hour.

7. A thirst for adventure. We wanted to do something fun as a family and to learn about the world. Having something to look forward to every month is very exciting. Whenever we feel down or homesick, someone is coming to visit, a trip is planned or a package arrives. We aren’t bored or stagnant and there is a lot of excitement and adventure awaiting us, if we so choose, and most weekends, we’re choosing to see and explore and enjoy this journey as much as we can.

If you’re an expat, what has helped you to settle in to your new home? What makes you happy? Thanks for reading and sharing this journey with me. 😉