Welcome to the start of my blog! I'm intending (hoping?) to update this blog during our year abroad in Chamonix, France so our friends and family can follow our progress. For those of you who don't know... we're spending a year in France. Surprise! Our good friends, Pete and Les, invited us to come and spend a year next door to them in Chamonix, and it was an offer we couldn't refuse. So I've got leave from my teaching job, we've registered the girls in schools in Cham, my cousin from Scotland is coming to our house for the year with her kids to have her own adventure here in Canada, and we're off.
One week until we leave... are we ready? Of course not. But many things have been packed, many things have been cleared, many things checked off the list. Sadly, leaving our gorgeous dog Piper with my parents for the year is one of them. That's probably going to be the hardest part - although we know he is going to be incredibly well looked after and loved by my mum and dad (thanks again, M&D) we're going to miss him terribly, and I know he's going to miss us. But there's always Skype...
One week until we leave... are we ready? Of course not. But many things have been packed, many things have been cleared, many things checked off the list. Sadly, leaving our gorgeous dog Piper with my parents for the year is one of them. That's probably going to be the hardest part - although we know he is going to be incredibly well looked after and loved by my mum and dad (thanks again, M&D) we're going to miss him terribly, and I know he's going to miss us. But there's always Skype...
And just to settle a few commonly asked questions:
1. 'Are the girls excited to go to France for the year?' I believe overall the answer is 'yes', although as Indra told me the other day when asked, 'I'm not excited, but I am pleased'. The distinction? I'm not sure, but Indie seemed to see one. But I also feel they've got some great 'double think' going on, as in they're excited for all the wonderful things we're planning to do in France (the skiing, the hiking, living next door to our good friends, the many baguettes and crepes we are planning on eating) but they're also planning their lives as usual here - what they're going to wear for Halloween, inviting friends for sleepovers, planning Christmas with their cousins etc. They don't seem to realize that the two lives can't, and won't, co-exist. So I think we'll be in for a bit of a shock after the novelty of being in France wears off and they realize they're there for the year. I anticipate a few tears from four-year-old Zoe and some emphatic 'I want to go home's, as we had recently on our two-week camping trip to PEI. But we'll see...
1. 'Are the girls excited to go to France for the year?' I believe overall the answer is 'yes', although as Indra told me the other day when asked, 'I'm not excited, but I am pleased'. The distinction? I'm not sure, but Indie seemed to see one. But I also feel they've got some great 'double think' going on, as in they're excited for all the wonderful things we're planning to do in France (the skiing, the hiking, living next door to our good friends, the many baguettes and crepes we are planning on eating) but they're also planning their lives as usual here - what they're going to wear for Halloween, inviting friends for sleepovers, planning Christmas with their cousins etc. They don't seem to realize that the two lives can't, and won't, co-exist. So I think we'll be in for a bit of a shock after the novelty of being in France wears off and they realize they're there for the year. I anticipate a few tears from four-year-old Zoe and some emphatic 'I want to go home's, as we had recently on our two-week camping trip to PEI. But we'll see...
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2. Are we going to want to come back after the year is up? I'm not sure why so many people are determined to predict that we won't return after our year away (don't they want us to come back?), but let me say once again that we WILL be back next August. I have a JOB for one thing, a job that I love. Plus we have a house. Family. Friends. And a great life here in Baie d'Urfe. Don't get me wrong, I'm very excited for this adventure, but as Toby observed today as we enjoyed another beautiful summer's day in our garden, life is pretty good here too!
So obviously no exciting pictures to post yet of our exciting new life in France (gimme a week!) but I thought I would post a picture of our gorgeous boy, Piper (missing him already).
T minus 7 days. Watch this space...
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