It will soon be two years since we transitioned to America, and despite the pandemic upending much of our beginnings at settling, I am impressed at how well the boys are doing. Every now and then, something occurs which reminds me that this is not yet fully “home” to them.
A couple months ago, in the throes of spring snow, we happened to be speaking to friends in Brisbane telling us about all the rain they were getting. Drew just sighed and said, “I miss rain.” I realised that the lion’s share of their precipitation now comes in the form of snow.
Recently, Zach was invited over to a new friend’s house, which I was thrilled about, as they have been relatively isolated since moving here due to the pandemic. He was with the friend at a park when they called to ask me if they could go over to this boy’s house. I asked if there were guns in the house and the boy told me there weren’t.
When I hung up the phone, Sam said, “Mom. I just heard you ask if there were guns in the house. That’s silly. No one would have a gun in their house!” And I sadly had to tell him that, actually, people do. He thought that over and said “Ok. Well, no one would have a gun in their house that has kids in the house.” Out of the mouths of babes…this is a sad new reality brought about by this move.
Twice since moving, I have heard a couple arguing loudly and strongly, and I have had the thought, “What if one of them is armed?” The other day I had my youngest with me when it happened. I wondered if it was safe to get out of the car with him. This is a new fear—it definitely doesn’t feel much like freedom to be worried about who is angry and armed when you’re out running errands.
Moving on to cricket—the sport, not the bug. 😉 We have finally enrolled Zach in a cricket league and he couldn’t be more thrilled. And I am thrilled to see him so happy. Yes had a tough stretch and I love to see him thrive.
The team is primarily made up of kids from India. It hasn’t fazed him one bit. I felt awkward watching for the first time, wondering if we seemed like outsiders. But the team parents and coaches were the most friendly, welcoming people, more so than any team we’ve joined so far. We’ve only been on a couple, but it was a marked difference. I thought about how I’m rarely the only white person in a situation. It could have been much more awkward. It made me hope the situations in which they find themselves the minority are just as welcoming and comfortable.
To continue my random musings, I’ll now jump to the end of the school year. Last year, my boys’ first school year in America, school was remote. On the last day of school, we walked them out to our backyard and cheered them each moving up a grade. This year, we celebrated in Every way we could!
My younger two both had ceremonies–one for finishing kindergarten and the other for finishing elementary school. The older boys commented to me, “Mom, Americans really celebrate moving up a grade in school–why is there a ceremony to go from Kindergarten to 1st grade in the same school?” I agreed that it does seem like overkill, but commented that he didn’t get a preschool celebration like they did due to the shutdown and right now, everything feels worth celebrating–namely the simple fact that we can!
My oldest left from his last day of school to walk around town with friends, eat food and just enjoy the day. It is weird for me to realize this stage of increased independence with him, but I am simply thrilled to see him find friends here, that I am quite open to whatever he wants to do right now! He only started back to school four days per week in April and that’s when the switch really seemed to flip for him socially. I am so grateful that he now gets to be a typical 13-year-old and attempt to leave me out of the loop as much as he can!
As we prepare to embark on our first vacation since our big move, I am able to think back on all we have been through in these past couple years and feel truly grateful. Just last month, I was able to surpass my pre-pandemic level of work in terms of yoga. It feels wonderful after more than a year of piecing together some income in any way I could. Steve finished his Master’s Degree in Education last year and was denied the raise he was due because of Covid budget constraints. He recently found out that he will finally receive it in October of this year.
Through all of this, we have had good health (boy–when you see and hear of so many people struggling with their health–covid or otherwise, it sure puts into perspective what a blessing good health is, definitely something to be cherished when we have it!) and each other. We have grown closer together as a family. My kids are becoming gorgeously socially aware and empathetic, and more than ever, we realize what’s really important in this life. We are ready to drive around and explore our beautiful country and celebrate this stage of our journey!
americanmommydownunder 