Reality Check

I received some feedback from home that our life here seems too picture-perfect (how can all of this traveling be reality, I mean, come on!!).  Yes, we are blessed beyond measure to be living this amazing adventure.  However, life here has not been all fun and games.  It has been hard work.

I chose to focus my overall blog on the highlights of our time here - the grand adventures we get to take when Chris is not working until all hours of the night to keep up with Utah business hours, or when I am not throwing laundry into our small euro-style clothes washer (sans dryer) that hums next to the kitchen sink. I have filtered my stories this way because I assume people don't want to hear about my dirty laundry (yes, pun intended).  Also, people can't hear about Chris' medical device because his company's progress can't be broadcast on a blog anyways.


Thus, at this point in the blog, I feel it is important to give a larger perspective of our life here for one blog post, so that you can understand our experiences a little better. I'm only going to address these things once, because I like the blog better when we cover our family highlights.  You don't exactly want to broadcast happy photos of a family shopping excursion at the grocery store.:)
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Chris has battled over hours and hours to set us up with actual UK credit and debit cards, a bank account, a reimbursement system, money transfers, new cell phone plans, etc.  There have been more scares and frustrations than successes in this realm, because every organization has different hoops that they make one jump through, and the systems are not built for foreigners.    To paint a vivid picture of this craziness, one day in early June, we were expecting a wire transfer from Chris' company and it hadn't gone through quickly enough.  Chris then discovered we had been overcharged x3 for a large online purchase.  As a result, to our horror, we then discovered that we only had 7 pounds (approximately $11) in our entire UK bank account.  Never in my life have Chris and I counted our coins on the couch, and planned how we would spend each one. (Don't worry, that chaotic experience has definitely been resolved - please don't send money!!)

On average, Chris works about 65 hours a week.  Ironically, I see Chris much more now with his crazy work hours than I did back at home because he is often working from our flat.  Often, he will have sporatic meetings with doctors or nurses in local hospitals, so we sandwich adventures around those meetings.  Sometimes, he comes home and has to make conference calls to Utah (Utah business hours end at midnight).  Chris also averages about 2 daytrips a week to other cities in the UK so that he can meet with other doctors and nurses (you aren't hearing about those trips because they are brief, and everything involved is work-related - I don't go on those).

I am busy as a full-time mom.  Everyone knows this is a serious job, and it lasts from sun-up to sun-down.  Since we have arrived here, Matthew has been sick several times, so I have had to deal with his sicknesses.  This includes skype calls to the Pediatrician back home and navigating the children's medicine aisle where drug names like Tylenol are listed very differently.  Matthew is a joy to be around, but I still clean up a lot of spilled milk.  I try to take him on daily adventures when Chris is working.  Sometimes I take him to play close by, and sometimes we travel into Central London and tour around as mum and baby.  Matthew has also loved being around his dad more often, and I have loved that Chris can interact more with him during the day.

We haven't left Matthew with a babysitter, or temporarily turned care over to anyone at all, since we arrived two months ago.  Our ward hasn't been the babysitter haven we had originally assumed it would be, so we have adapted and Matthew goes absolutely everywhere we do. We love our son dearly, and this has been great for bonding, but there have been no breaks except for naps and bedtime (as a result, we stay up too late!!).  We think we have finally found a babysitter for a few planned occasions in the future, but now we worry that Matthew will be very very uncomfortable when we leave.  Even a brief absence will likely throw him into an emotional tailspin. He will be scared to death!

We do not own a car - this has proven to be physically arduous business.  Every day, if we want or need to go anywhere, we walk just under a 1/2 mile to our neighborhood's high street where we catch the underground or the train. If we are running late, we run. We push Matthew in the stroller or wear him in a front pack (he will nap in the front pack sometimes) and he isn't exactly light anymore.  The high street is also where our local grocery store, post office, bank, local restaurants and other shopping stores are located. Sometimes we walk to the high street twice in a day.  Often, we push loads of groceries or home goods back in the stroller.  The walk home is a gradual hill.  On average, we each walk about 2-2.5 miles every day.


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As one can see, our lives are not necessarily easy, but we do have some great perks and our adventure is definitely worth the frustrations. The biggest perk is that we can continue to enjoy wonderful places.  We have made touring a priority and we will continue to do so.  We are definitely blessed to be here, but it is work.  I hope you are enjoying reading about our adventures, and I hope this posting gives you some perspective on what we do.  Now, on to postings about Windsor Castle and Scotland . . .