Bluebird's Nest

Reflecting… reflecting on leaving that part of my life behind. Not having a house to come back to, to pick up where I left off when I get back there. It’s really the end of one thing which is sad but also thoughtful.

Leaving

I enjoyed spending the time and watching my wee babe grow and learn everything that she had to learn from 6-12 months. I loved seeing her with her grand parents, aunty, family, friends, etc… She might not remember them soon but they sure will remember her. I’m positive that they will live on in her heart somewhere and there will always be a part of them with her. A familiarity when she sees them next. It was so utterly sad leaving my in-laws house knowing that we were taking her away from them. I couldn’t hold back the tears.

For the tweenager, I always say she had the most beneficial time. Growing her language skills, having to make new friends in a new school system in a foreign language. I’m so proud of her for all that she has done. Thanks to her, we have about 10 songs that are our theme songs for that time in our life so I will always remember that time when I hear them. She has grown up so quickly in the last 6 months and is not the same girl that left on our trip across Canada.

I’m so happy for my hubby to go back home and see his family and friends and show off his new littlest girl. You could see the joy in his face and the skip in his step when he knew he was heading up the mountains to go snowboarding. Who gets to take 6 months off and then head back to a better paying job?

As for me, I loved every minute of it. It was cleansing, rejuvenating, inspiring, fulfilling, motivational and challenging. I would highly recommend anyone to try to live in another country for 4+ months. It’s a lot of work, research and commitment to get there, but it is so absolutely worth it. I miss it dearly and I would be lying if I didn’t say that some days I just want to go back to our little apartment overlooking the lake and the mountains. We have plans though… plans to one day make it back there. Plans to get the wee babe in school over there because there is a lot more $$ in Switzerland for education then there is here. A lot. I keep asking my hubby if we can buy a house over there so we can move back and forth and then it doesn’t seem quite so over when it’s over. We shall see what the future holds for us.

Coming back

I’ll blog about the airplane trip(s) soon so I won’t get into that, but let’s just say it was about the worst experience on a plane that I’ve ever had. I was worried for the wee babe but I think I should have been more worried then I was. It was a terrible horrible no good very bad thing.

My feelings on coming back. It’s so damn easy to slip back into your life after only 6 months. You just unpack boxes, schedule appointments to get your life back into order, reconnect with friends and family, start working again and voila! You’re back at it.

The wee babe has gone through some changes with a new daycare, being sick, a new language, bad cheese (we are still buying expensive (was cheap) Swiss cheese as she really only likes that compared to the orange crap we have here), a new house, new bed, new time change, more rain than she’s ever seen, and she’s handling it all quite well.

The tweenager has fit right back into school, she’s top notch now in French, and has been building her life here. We spent so much time together that I feel ok with her spreading her wings.

The hubby started up his new job in a new building with new co-workers. Even before we got back, his schooling at Royal Roads had started and he was fully into the swing of school life as soon as we got back. I don’t know how he works all day and then studies all night. Must be because he has such a supportive wife He’s dying to go back too but has to finish school first. We have a 5 year plan.

All in all, things have morphed quite smoothly. People ask me if it was hard to transition back. Not really. The hardest thing is when you know the sun is shining over there and it’s raining here. It’s enough to make you wonder why you live here. I’m not sure who coined the phrase “Best place on Earth” but they might have been smoking something funny at the time.

I miss the friends I made, the family that touched our life, an everything that Switzerland is now to my family.

Writing this has given me closure and has been very therapeutic in feeling like that part of my life is complete.

And after 3 months I can safely say – we’re back!

On the last day of our stay in Vevey, the hubby and I had our little apartment all to ourselves. We had shipped the kids off to Maminou and Papinou’s for the night so that him and I could clean the apartment from top to bottom. We also enjoyed one last night (we took advantage of our time together and even had a date night) in Vevey. We looked around for a restaurant that we hadn’t enjoyed yet and walked through the streets reminiscing about memories that we had made together and with our girls.

It was great being able to just take the time to absorb it all and really feel the end of this stage in our lives. It definitely felt like closure for me.

This came after Christmas and New Years but I feel like our stay in Vevey actually ended before the holidays. You see, from the 24th of December to the 2nd of January we didn’t live in Vevey. We were at my in-laws house and in Valbella. So in my mind, we said goodbye to Vevey before we got into the thick of the holidays – even though technically we had our last night there on the 3rd of January.

These photos pay tribute to some of the last memories we had there and the beauty that Vevey and the surrounding mountains have to offer.

Enjoy.

I’ve been reflecting lately on perspective and how one gains perspective. I’ve always thought that gaining perspective has a lot to do with removing yourself from the situation. Being able to be an outsider looking in. Taking a break from what’s happening and giving yourself time to reflect and rejuvenate.

But I guess you could also gain perspective by being in a different environment. If you go to a third world country, you would gain the perspective of how fortunate we might be with running water for example. But then it also might give you perspective on how superficial we are. A stick may be a little boy’s toy in Peru, where we need (insert fashionable toy of the minute here).

I think gaining and getting perspective is so important. A chance to see things a different way.

I’m beginning to think that gaining perspective also builds on growing you as a person. Because if you think about it, if you can look at something differently, doesn’t that help you to change and perhaps grow just a little?

I’m thrilled to be able see how my baby grow and thrive in the next 6 months of her life. Changing at the same time as I write this blog. But what I’m even more looking forward to is seeing how my tweenager grows by gaining perspective.

Seeing a different way of living in a new culture, meeting new people, missing old friends, learning new things… if I know her I think she’s going to embrace the differences and this in turn, will help her to see life just a bit differently. Not that there is anything wrong with the way she sees it now.

Just differently.

Today is a beautiful day.

Today we supported “Team Owen” and walked 5km’s for Autism Awareness in Beaver Lake. We were joined by many many people. Friends and strangers – we all came together for one common goal. To cheer the people in our lives who have autism.

I felt proud to be walking for our friend’s son.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Ok, so it’s not exactly Christmas but we’re getting ready for the trip of a lifetime and if that’s not a Christmasy feeling I don’t know what is.

Across Canada. Wow, we’re really going to do this with a wee babe. I sat down today with a colleague and his wife to talk about their trip across Canada with their little man. It really got me in the mood. It really got me jazzed and it really got me adding to my already lengthy lists!

We talked about stopping every two hours, a backseat kit with toys and books, babybands, wipes that sanitize, pumping, camping, hoteling, skycotts, etc…

Then the other part of the trip: our voyage to Switzerland and Europe. There’s so much stuff to think about. Wills, life insurance, medical insurance, car insurance, RESP’s, mail, gardening, the tweenager’s schooling, accommodation, toys, clothing for 3 seasons, packing up a house, getting tenants, passports, visas, everything and then some. I was a up and coming project manager at my work. If I’m not an expert project manager at the end of all of this I don’t know what other experience I would need. Wowsers, talk about a lot of balls in the air.

But man oh man am I stoked. I’m pumped. Things are getting done, and every day I’m one day closer to a dream I had – crossing my country. I’m one day closer to a remarkable experience for my tweenager – living abroad for 6 months, and one day closer to my Swiss mister’s trip home.

I count my blessings. We are lucky and maybe a little bit crazy. My hubby and I work like a well oiled machine. Him taking care of everything Swiss. Me taking care of everything Canadian. Us tying up the loose ends we might not have thought about. Bouncing ideas off of each other. Working to a budget. A time line. We are an amazing team getting it all done and we are even throwing a going away BBQ before we leave.

I can feel it. We’re getting so close.

“Soul Surfer is a 2011 American drama film about the life of surfer Bethany Hamilton, who lost her left arm in a shark attack when she was 13 years old.”

Stars: [rating=4]

Review:

Our family went to see this movie (based on real life) yesterday. I don’t know if it’s me or my mommy hormones but man oh man was I moved during this flick. Inspiring is to say the least. I cried 3 times in this movie. Seriously, bring some hankies.

What is so inspiring is that this young girl faces one of the hardest challenges of her life. Let’s face it, if that happened to me, I would need some therapy, drugs and I should probably take stocks in Kleenex. She faced her challenge head on and it wasn’t easy. She gave up. Momentarily. And to gain perspective she went and volunteered by helping the tsunami victims in Phuket, Thailand (I think someone is trying to tell me something).

She came back with a vengeance after realizing that she was an inspiration to people all around the world. “I don’t need easy, I just need possible.” She thanked her competition for not going easy on her.

For me, I’ve faced challenges in my life, not as extreme as losing an arm, but I feel like I have a little of this drive that Bethany has. I think it’s important to watch and read stories like this to encourage you to be all that you can be. It’s also about your path through life. You can make it to be whatever you want it to be and yeah, it’s gonna be hard, life throws curve balls – otherwise it’s no fun! But you always must remember that it’s whatever YOU make it to be.

Sometimes it’s hard to remember that. Sometimes you need to gain perspective. Sometimes you need to remove yourself from the situation – and remember to breath.

YouTube – Soul Surfer Official Trailer.