I remember sitting in my front yard 3 years ago, watching movers load everything we owned onto a truck to have it shipped overseas. And I remember feeling like I could cry. We were leaving the place we had called home for 9 years, plus all of our family and friends, to move to a new country. All I could think was "What the hell are we doing? What if it all goes terribly wrong?! What am I going to do without a Target just 5 minutes away?!"
How did 3 years go by already? Can I tell you that I'm not really prepared to go back to living in the States? Europe (England included) is just so different, with a different way of living, and I've become so accustomed to it that moving back feels strange. And I'd be lying if I said I wasn't going to miss being here, at least a little. Living in a foreign country has taught me a lot - like how to politely take up multiple parking spaces with my minivan so that I can easily leave a store. It does change you though - living so far away from home. You're away from everyone you love, out of your comfort zone, and without the things you're used to.
I can't even believe how much the kids have grown here. It's crazy to look back at the pictures and see how young they were...how different their personalities were. Living here has changed them too.
3 years appart...They changed so much
There's a part of me that wishes we could have waited to come overseas until they were a little bit older. But at the same time, I'm glad we came when we did because the Mister and I have been able to show them so many things. And who am I kidding? I've been able to cross a lot off my own bucket list --
Like seeing Stonehenge...
And the Eiffel Tower...
And really old castles...
Trying new foods...
And getting my ass broken by a boulder...
Ok, so that wasn't actually on my bucket list, but I will remember it for a very long time. So maybe it counts. (And can I tell you that every time I say the word "boulder" I can't help but hear Eddie Murphy say "That is a NICE boulder!" Lol)
Seriously though, there are so many things that I'm going to miss. Like the church down the street from our house. When we first moved here I absolutely hated listening to the church bells. They were so loud. But after 3 years, I barely noticed them most of the time, and when I did hear them it was really beautiful. And I'm going to miss all of our neighbor's chickens. They're actually really fun to listen to. I'm going to miss the food, and pubs, and the markets. I'm going to miss our friends. Oh I'm going to miss their cat! She is the funniest cat I've ever met.
That's her. She scratched on the door. Looked through the side window. And scratched on the door some more until we opened the door. She comes running any time we're outside, and has basically made our yard her 2nd home. The day our movers came she tried to jump in our kitchen window, so maybe she's going to miss us too.
I'm going to miss the beautiful countryside, the really old buildings, and the cathedrals. I'm going to miss getting to use fun words like trolley, and lorry, and loo. And sometimes I wonder if I'll still say chips instead of french fries when we're in the States. And I'll miss really fun driving adventures like taking the minivan on super tiny roads that it was never meant to be on. Like this one...
That was absolutely a 2-lane road, except that van took up the whole thing. Passing someone was insane. And there were a few times I felt like I might have had a few years shaved off my life when we passed another large vehicle on this road.
It's been such a crazy ride these last few years. We've all been through a lot - individually, and together. I'm so glad we came here (for better or worse). Living in a foreign country teaches you a lot about yourself - what you can tolerate, and what you can't. You learn that there are things more beautiful than you could imagine, and people who are more kind and generous than you thought possible. You learn what is important.
So thanks for having us, England. It's been great. We should do this again sometime.
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