Wednesday, April 25, 2012

The First Month

One month ago today, we drove away from our home and our life as we knew it and started this journey. It has been a month full of ups and downs and as I sit here looking back I can honestly say up and down are tied.  If you had asked me the first week if I would say that, the answer would have been emphatically, "NO!"

I have tried to keep this updated, so this won't be as much story as impressions.  Our family, while absent Chris a lot of the time, is stronger. We are Team Evans and we will emerge the victor.  We only have each other and making this work is taking a concentrated effort on everyone's part.  I am sure as time goes on it will get easier and feel like less of a battle, but for the moment, we are fighting to find our way.  Starting over is hard under the best of circumstances and these are less than ideal.

While less than ideal, I am finding the good in all things.  Every day the kids get a little more settled.  They are enjoying school and have already made friends.  The bonus to that is that they are making friends from all over the world.  They have classmates from China, India and Pakistan, just to name a few.  How amazing that they have the opportunity to experience other cultures in a personal relationship.  The doorbell is ringing and the outside time is on the up, all good things!  Jackson has started lacrosse, another sport to add to the list and while a little behind and as always, the littlest, he is enjoying it and improves at every practice.  Chloe is really enjoying school, the arts are more emphasized here and many of their lessons are taught through drama and artistic endeavors.  She is thriving and also happily ahead in most subjects, so school is a battle we are not fighting!  Today for their religion class she was the angel sent from heaven during the Resurrection of Christ in a drama performed for the whole school.  While she had no lines, she was great!  Aila is crying a little less every day, but is still her high maintenance self.  :)  I am grateful that the whole day is no longer a scream fest!  She is talking more each day and seems to enjoy the boxes and overall chaos, more stuff to get into!

On the grown up front, I have met a few of the neighborhood moms and they have all been very nice and helpful in directing me on where to go for what I need.(All in Edmonton, but hey...)  Chris is enjoying his work and seems to be impressing the powers that be.  The house is coming along, slowly, but I am hopeful the boxes will be gone within the next month and I am trying not to focus on the fact that it has NEVER taken us a month to unpack before.  All things in time....

Our overall Canadian experience has been limited to the daily life trips, the grocery, school, the bank...I am hoping this summer when Chris' hours get a little more normal, that we can explore our new country and learn what Canada is all about.    The daily life is a little different, a little frustrating at times, but we are finding our rhythm.  I will never get used to the ridiculously slow speed limits, the lack of Mexican food and the inconvenience of driving 4 hours to go anywhere(that I want to go), but I am loving the lack of homework, the opportunities for experiencing new things and the closeness our family is sharing.

Let's see what the next month brings!

1 comment:

  1. Great post honey, very descriptive and enlightening about your experiences. It is great the kids are thriving as well as you and Chris. Continue to embrace the change and new experiences you all will have. Thoroughly enjoy your entries, keep up the good work!

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