Reality Check

We're both exhausted., A. and I, and this is frightening to admit out loud. However, the weather outside is awful (lightning storms last night, lots of wind and rain today,) and so, it becomes a little easier to write about what I am feeling today.

I tell myself that it's completely normal to feel like I do - especially when I make the list of what has been happening since the middle of July. The living out of a suitcase, the learning how to deal with pollution (air and noise,) understanding how to use a kitchen whose fridge is about 4 cubic feet big, figuring out things like  how to take the bus, the metro, where the supermarkets and fresh food markets are, where to buy school books, how to provide emotional support to an 11 year old who is not only overwhelmed with big-city living in a foreign language and culture, but who, in missing his friends (and his brother) opens the mailbox at least twice a day - only to find emptiness...

None of these items are especially negative or unusual in the context of having made a major move from house to apartment living, from the suburbs to a major urban city. (Well, I think I can now make a strong case for the beauty of written mail as opposed to the telephone.) Many of these struggles are known by anyone who has moved from one place to another. The living out of the suitcase bit? Well, China was amazing, and living out of a suitcase for a month there was absolutely worth it. And I'm very, very grateful to my mother-in-law for hosting us for a month while waiting for our apartment (She is one of the most generous people around!) We did find a furnished apartment, within walking distance to several markets, and very convenient to public transportation. The parent support group and A.'s immediate peer group at school are welcoming and supportive. Skype allows us to keep in daily contact w/ home (even when big brother is struggling to not yawn.) And we're in Paris!!! Doesn't EVERYONE want to come and live in this wonderful city?

Well... It's that change is hard, even under the best of circumstances. I could probably come up with some platitudes about digging in and getting through the rough spots, but for now, just realizing that there are bright patches in stormy days is enough.