Well here we are, living in Brighton. Where can I start.

I’m sitting here in the dining room / office. French doors look out onto a wet, green garden. Over summer, we had many happy times out there. Breakfasting, lunching and even sleeping in it’s verdant lovliness.

So many visitors! We barely had time to unpack. So blessed to be able to arrive in a new country, new life already knowing some special folk and soon some brand new friends too. Then being able to introduce them to our Mums having followed us over just a few months after arrival!

The first three months, Gra was on the job hunt and there is no denying, it was a gruelling and scary time for us. I’ll say it once, and then I won’t go on about it. This is a REALLY expensive country. Three months with rent, school fees, living expenses and no income. Ouch. But he come through with the goods and got into, bizarelly it seemed, a bank job. Gra’s going to write too, so he will fill you in on all of that.

From my perspective, we went from the sublime to the ridiculous. We had no idea how easy we had it with self-employment all those years of early parenting. Now Daddy wasn’t getting home until 7.30 most nights and we very rarely see him in the morning. Wow. Not a plan for the long term. Fortunately there are other possibilities in the pipeline.

We are in awe of Gra as he gets up and rides that train to a healthier bank balance and more marketable CV. Even though he is far more capable of doing it than I ever would be, the novelty is certainly starting to wear off. On the bright side, weekends and holidays have become ritualised packets of familial abundance in a way we have never really experienced before. The first week he took off was shortly after starting (heck, it was summer! And as all Northern folk now, you just gotta make the most of it.) As we drove off again to The Buddhafields (family-friendly camping retreat in Somerset countryside), we chuckled knowing we were still being paid – rather than hoping the invoices had gone out on time.

So, big changes all around.

(ends there…)

Love – Libs xxx