Pub Problems

Rest assured if I'm blogging it's from one of two places; a pub or my couch. The pubs in the UK are beautiful. I do however miss the good 'ole American sports bar. Being a mother doesn't allow me a lot of down time except for the fact they are both in school here! It's been an odd mix of emotions. I've never been a stay-at-home mom without having a kid at home to tend to. I have also worked the vast majority of my married life. My experience is varied greatly from child care to telecommunications. My degrees are in marketing and education so you can see how it all comes together.

Moving to England has allowed me to slow down a bit. The girls go to school year 'round which means every six weeks they are out of school for a week for half term break. That poses a problem when wanting to work. Often child care costs negate any income I would have made. I do realize there are other benefits to working besides money but that also comes with additional stress. That stress is often taken out on my kids or husband. Being able to slow down and really see someplace for its value is amazing. I don't think I was able to appreciate The US for everything it offers because we were so busy. Here we make sure that we are exploring the land and meeting people. Of course we arrived in December which made it a challenge to get out. It does rain a good bit here and the weather is cold. The biggest challenge was all the wind. It hasn't been anything totally unbearable though. Now that it is warming up I expect us to get out even more.

Wales is on my to-do list soon. Then we will make our way up to Scotland. Eventually we will get to Ireland, France, Spain, Germany and all the other wonderful places in Europe. It would be such a disservice NOT to see them since we are so close.

Sometimes I still have "pinch me, this can't be real" moments about living here. I mean, really this is my life. I never in a million years dreamed of living in the UK. When this journey is over I want to look back and know without a doubt that I lived it to the fullest.