Starting out

It's taken me over two weeks to write this first blogpost. Travelling with our two young, well-travelled children to a beautiful, welcoming city that's only one flight away and with no crazy agenda to drop into when we land will be easy, right? Wrong.

But the problem wasn't the kids' jet lag (milder than we feared it might be), or that they were clingier than usual because everything was unfamiliar (fair enough), or even that we had little time to take advantage of the internet to research a few things before we had to get out of the house to keep us all sane (and thus promptly lost wifi). No, the problem was much simpler: I wasn't fully replenishing my energy reserves. Sure, after the first week I was getting enough sleep, eating pretty well and having lots of fun during the days with my gorgeous family (see next post), but I know I need other things too - I get great strength from keeping in contact with good friends, planning meet-ups, chatting to new people, and indulging in the arts (theatre, music, or even simply reading). And if I had been doing any of the above it was in a very light fashion - nowhere near enough to give me the energy I need to write.

So before I realised all this I felt a little bit sad for a few days. When my 2-year-old woke up with a slight whimper one night I crawled in beside him and allowed myself to shed a few silent tears. My wonderful husband knew something was up and helped me talk through it a few nights later, and then I turned the corner. The next day I started making more of an effort to keep in touch with friends; I devoted proper time to setting up some playdates and finding local playgroups; I blew the dust off my Kindle; and when my birthday came round a few days later Mr H produced a ticket for the following day for me to watch the Vancouver professional Shakespeare company perform 'Much Ado About Nothing' in blissful solitude (paradoxically I also adore being alone) while he took the kids to the zoo.

So refreshed, rejuvenated and ready to write, I now bring you "GlobeToddles". Enjoy!

Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada

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