One Year on…

A year of firsts, a year of learning, and a year of mostly winging it!

It’s doesn’t feel like a year since I closed the door for the last time at Aveley Gardens and we said our final goodbyes to our family and friends. A year since we left the street the kids loved and played out endlessly on, rain or shine, they were out there having fun, causing havoc. A year since my Grandad sped away in his little Toyota, his parting words ‘it’s only what we did, we left our family’ referring to the time they lived in Australia when my Mum and Aunty Judith were younger. Ever the realist and always the one to make light of a serious situation, he did ease my anxiety for a few minutes at least. A year since I had to truly believe in myself, believe that we were making the right decision, believe that I could navigate my little family through this immense change.

I just want to start by saying a huge thank you to everyone who has vistited us, kept in touch and followed our journey so far. You’ll never know how much it’s meant to us and we are truly grateful for each and everyone of you. To our friends here, thank you for making our first year a great one, for the laughs, the get togethers and the memories.

Also, to Zach and Sienna, who I hope one day will read our updates. We have asked so much of you, and you have both handled it so well. We’ve always been so proud of you both, but how you have handled this last year, making new friends, starting a new school and embracing everything Dubai has to offer, you have been amazing and we love you so much.

On reflection, I can honestly say it’s been the best thing for us. It’s given us time together as a family that we wouldn’t have had in the UK, experiences, and memories to last a lifetime. To see the kids flourish in their new school has just made it even more worth it. I remember being sat at my old desk looking at all the schools and communities, such a daunting task but everything kept bringing me back to Safa and I’m so glad we chose to put the kids there. It’s been a perfect fit for them. They both had great teachers who helped them immensely through their first year at Safa.

All change is hard at first, messy in the middle and gorgeous at the end. Everything you now find easy, you first found difficult – Robin Sharma 5am Club

As amazing as this last year has been, we definetly find ourselves in the messy middle part of this change. It’s been hard at times, frustrating and my anxiety levels have been at an all time high some days. We’ve made friends and had to say goodbye to them, we’ve seen family and friends and then had to adjust to life without them again. We also still have the day to day worries of raising and supporting a young family. There have been times when the kids have been upset, longing for the comfort and familiarity of home and to be honest so have I, it’s the people I miss, not the place.

For me, my Teaching Assistant position couldn’t have come at a better time, call it fate, but I truly beleive that there was a reason I sent the inital email when I did and was placed where I was. I’m in a great class with Amy, who is the Teacher (also a fellow Zara and coffee lover) and Nancy, my fellow TA, who is an absolute gem. I was ready for a new challenge after not working since the move and I wasn’t sure if this would be the right fit for me, it’s non stop and tiring but I do really enjoy it. Also, the beauty of working at school is that I sometimes get to see the kids when they don’t know i’m there. They both look so happy and content amongst their friends, which is great to see. No longer working to make other people happy but to make a difference in little peoples lives and make them aeroplanes and beanstalks.

The summer months have been hard, harder than I thought they would be. It was great to have the holiday to Singapore and Bali, just to be able to breathe without burning your nostrills.

Singapore was amazing, the city we never knew we needed. Sometimes it’s easy to forget that there is a big wide world out there when your living in the Dubai bubble, and we needed to be reminded of this. We loved visiting the Hawker market across from our hotel, the food was incredible. Zach was not so impressed by the savory options but Sienna loved the bau buns, she couldn’t get enough of them. We didn’t stop the whole time we were there, on and off the Metro, the Big Red Bus Tour and the evening stroll that took us along the river so far that we had to get a taxi back. Gardens by the Bay and Marina Bay Sands were incredible also. Some lovely memories made and defiently somewhere we will return one day.

Bali was just as amazing, I didn’t want to leave. The hotel we stayed in was so beauitful and it was nice to see James relax and enjoy himself, he deseved it. We had planned to explore a bit more but after Singapore we all needed a bit of downtime. We met up with our friends Deena and Sean who have three boys so Zach was made up and we had a lovely night catching up. We also made new friends at the hotel who have children that are similar ages to Zach and Sienna. It was lovely to get to know them and we will hopefully meet up again in the future.

Back in Dubai, its still hot, but a little more bareable than when we left. A busy few weeks of getting uniforms sorted and enjoying the last few weeks of summer together. Totally in denial about Zach starting high school, he looks so handsome in his uniform. Sienna is heading into Year 4 and is super excited to see her friends again.

So, as we head into our second year we are a little wiser, a little more durable and a little more confident. As a family we’re closer than we have ever been, through thick and thin, we’re navigating this new life together, as a team.