1 more week and we will have been in Australia for 2 whole months!! I cannot believe how time has flown...from week to week the days pass in a flurry of kiddy activities and domestic chores...and before we know it another weekend arrives and passes. And here we are nearly 2 months later.
For the most part, it has been a rather smooth transition process...there have been hiccups along the way and some down days....and some really down moments. But all in well I would say we are doing well so far.
I ended up taking Amy out of prep 3 days after she started. She seemed to be doing well, after the first 2 days complaining a bit that she missed me and that the playground was too busy. But it was after the Wednesday off that everything changed. Wednesdays are free days for preppies for the first month. We attended a prep playdate in the park that morning, to give Amy a chance to play with some of her classmates and help make some faces more familiar. I found out that morning that most of Amy's classmates were 5 turning 6 shortly and she was THE youngest in her class at 4 turning 5. I was under the impression that in Victoria you are obliged to start your kids the year they turn 5 if it is within the first 4 months. But in fact they only have to be in school the year they turn 6. I was horrified. My poor shy little person, so little...and shoved amongst bigger children with a playground swarming with kids. I felt so guilty...like I had completely let her down. The next day I took her straight to the teacher, she agreed with my decision to take her out and put her in for next year's prep. We formally "exited" the school in the office and that was that. I found a great 4 year old kinder for her about 200m from our house and after a while of settling in she is happy there.
Dan is still loving his kinder...though I wish I had known of Amy's kinder so close to home before I took him to Bubble which is a 5 minute drive instead of a 5 minute walk. But I think in the long run it is better for him and Amy to have their own schools. Especially Amy, who I realised after all this drew so much confidence from Dan...and then without him she was lost. So she needs this year in her own school to find her own confidence and learn to fly. I think of all of us Dan has made the easiest transition...perhaps because he is younger. He is full of life, happy and affectionate. LOVES travelling on the trains and trams...it is his best to just take a train trip. He is doing well at kinder, and he is making friends nicely too. There is a little Indian boy in the downstairs unit of our apartment, Dan calls him "his brother"...lol! Too cute.
Craig has spent hours and hours at his computer, searching for jobs, sending cv's....I have no idea how many he has sent out. The first 6 weeks he only had 1 interview from all of that...and he did not end up getting the job. Then we decided to invest in a professional cv writer (I say invest because it is a big outlay...in the region of $400 /R4000). The Cv writer did his resume, his linked in and a cover letter that is easily customisable. What a difference it has made!! In the last 2 weeks he has moved through 5 different telephonic interviews for different companies, and is now doing the second stage of interviews for them. So the CV helped him stand out from the crowd...I am so pleased. He was starting to feel a bit dejected about it. It is difficult to apply and apply and see no fruits from your labours. Otherwise, he has remained a cheerful and relaxed dad and husband...99% of the time absolutely positive. I am so fortunate to have him in my life. I love him endlessly.
From my side...I have made a few new friends...lovely people who I can relate to. Accepting all social invitations, that is how you get to know people. It does take me out of my comfort zone a bit...I think I am definitely a bit of a homebody. But putting myself out there anyways. Kids day to day schedules are keeping me busy, they start and end school at different times. Monday and Wednesday I have them home with me...so I need to come up with outings or activities to do with them. Dan does soccer on Saturdays (dad's job) and Amy does ballet on Friday afternoons when Dan is at school. So Friday is a pretty hectic day for me. I am managing to keep up with the housework...though if I drop the ball for even a day the house looks chaotic...starting to understand why people think a bigger house is easier to clean...you don't have as much stuff in as small a space.
We have found an amazing church, I feel really almost literally enveloped in love by everyone there. They are so accommodating and welcoming. On Saturday we are going to a church movie night for the kids. Pizza and a Kiddies movie...we are all looking forward to that.
Otherwise, my mom had to go for an unexpected operation last week. Turns out a non cancerous growth had eroded the bone wall between the ear and brain away!! She was actually leaking cerebral fluid out her ear!!! We were all very stressed about the op...and it is the first time I truly felt a continent away from them. It was terrible. But her op seems to have been a success and she is recovering at home and sounds perky. I thank the Lord for protecting her through all of that!!
I guess after all this upheaval I could not get past that without my immune system completely crashing. Last week I developed a strange swollen gland on the side of my neck...no other symptoms until Saturday night when I started with body aches, and then Sunday with terrible chills followed by hot sweats and chills and so on. Monday I went to a doctor...she could not tell me what was wrong, gave me an Antibiotic. I started with terrible headaches through the week, nothing seemed to change. I went back yesterday....and she literally sat there looking at me sympathetically while I tried to explain how horrid I was feeling...and then I would wait for her medical opinion...and she would stare at me...so I would offer some kind of self diagnosis and she would murmur noncommittally "hmmm maybe"...finally I burst into tears. She asked me if I was stressed...geez lady...of COURSE!
Then proceeded to say "ah it must be terrible to be so far from your family when you are feeling so crappy"...yes lady...just rub it in. I told C when I got home that I just paid $40 for a tissue...cos that is all I got out of that. I won't be going back to her. Got some names of docs recommended by Amy's teachers. If I don't feel better soon I am going to go to another doctor. One of the sucky things about moving...finding your new "people" medically. Hope I find the right doctor soon.
xxx
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