3 Years & Counting

 Hello! 

I am afraid I will probably have to make this brief as I only have so much time until Jack wakes up from his nap, BUT today marks 3 YEARS since we have moved to the UK and I felt like I couldn't NOT post my thoughts/emotions and share our updates.

A lot of you may still be waiting on my Labor & Delivery blog. Don't worry, I have started and drafted it about 50 times between the kids, life & also I am struggling to put it down onto paper if I am honest. I will get there one day... hopefully before Jack turns ONE (haha). 

Anyhow....3 Years!!!! Most of you would have watched the reel that I made. Putting 3 Years into 1 minute and 30 seconds was no easy feat, and it skipped out a lot. Watching it back and thinking about the last 3 Years actually makes me quite emotional. Seeing how small Emme was when we moved over here is probably the biggest reality check. 

If you all remember, when we started this journey to the UK, it was very much an 'extended visit'. My visa was good for 2.5 years and we thought the time we spent here would be before Emme went to primary school. Fast forward to 3 Years and I have now renewed my visa for another 2.5 years and Emme is in her 2nd Year at Primary school. Both of those statements might shock you... 

Firstly, we made the decision to renew my visa as it was going to expire and we would need to return back to the USA. This was in January/Feb 2023 that we were needing to gather things for this. At this time, I was 5-6 months pregnant with Jack and we weren't moving anywhere!! (HA!). We already knew for quite some time that we were going to extend my visa because we felt a little bit 'robbed' of our time here in the UK with COVID being at the height of the pandemic when we moved over. It did not feel like we really started to experience life in the UK until approx middle to end of 2022 (already 2 years into our stay). Secondly, as I have mentioned before, we had no idea when we moved over here just how early Emme could/would start primary school. I had read up and was aware that she could go to nursery/daycare/preschool from age 3 full time (30 hours) for free as long as both Daniel and I were working. My naïve self stopped the research from there. Very quickly we learned (once she started at her preschool) that she would be able to start primary school at the age of 4 (Just one week after turning 4, might I add) based on her birthdate. We discussed this in length between us and her preschool teachers and ultimately decided Emme was the type of gal that was ready! As you know, she started last September in Year R (reception/kindergarten) and she has done so well. She was one of the smallest entering the building, but that's where the 'delay' ends. She has flourished in her learning and social interactions with her peers and I feel we have made the right choice. As I have said to multiple people, her first days I worried about her going to the toilets on her own and now I worry about things like, did she do her reading homework? Does she know her key words? It's been a dramatic shift. I feel it was especially dramatic as her first day of school I had just found out I was pregnant with Jack --wowza! And the last year has gone by in quite a blur from there. Between being quite unwell with my pregnancy to then having a newborn and Emme starting her 2nd year, it has been BUSY to say the least.

It does not feel so much like an extended stay anymore and feels very much more like 'home'. This may be to my parent's sadness, but I also think they understand that we are building a happy life here. It doesn't mean it will be forever, but it is our NOW and we are trying to live in the NOW. 

We have integrated in the community by way of being involved in Emme's school and we have found a church that we enjoy and feel it is the right fit for our family. Daniel is still enjoying his job with a pool and spa company and I am currently on maternity leave until mid April (possibly longer) and can't talk about going back right now!! Not because I don't enjoy my jobs, but because I am enjoying Jack.

We both have groups of friends that we enjoy whether we have met via work, recreation, church, family etc. And Daniel is still enjoying playing football (soccer) on Thursday evenings and Sunday mornings--although he is probably getting to retirement age :). I have also decided with my crazy self to join the hospital charity pantomime (it is like a musical) that is put on every year after Xmas! It is held at the theater here in town and all proceeds go to the local hospital that I work for. For you USA people, Google what a pantomime is... because really it is quite a hilarious time! I have also found a group of mums and babies that I enjoy in a work out class that I do twice a week in person and once a week at home. I am finding that this time around I am not getting 'my body' back as quickly and I have enjoyed sweating and having fun with these ladies! Emme has also made some friends at her school and at church and she always enjoys seeing them.

So there isn't an answer to if you asked will we stay or move back because even we do not know! For now we enjoy where we are and I don't feel we need to make that decision right now. At the end of this current 2.5 year visa I am on, I can then become a citizen of the UK and have dual citizenship just like Daniel, Emme & Jack have. It would be ideal for us all to be dual and then we can always have the option of either country. There is still so much we want to see and do and while I have loved having another baby (minus the pregnancy and labor part), it has set us back just a bit on some trips that we won't take until Jack is a bit older. 

Reminders of things that I still love about the UK and that I have loved sharing with family and friends that have visited us this year......

-The weather. (UK people are still shocked about this)

-The scenery

-The food options and fresh food options

-The schools

-The central hub to lots of places to visit and travel

-The consciousness as a nation to preserve the planet

-The pubs

-The walkability

-The seaside

And I am sure there are things I will think of later.

Things I miss about USA.....

-The fattening food (Pancakes, BBQ, Mexican food)

-The chemicals allowed in the grocery store food--I just want some Kraft Mac & Cheese sometimes!!

-The drive thrus (pharmacy, bank, food, etc)

-The size of everything!! (bigger cars, houses, yards/gardens, stores etc)

-Not having to pay to park literally everywhere you go

-Obviously family & friends

-My job at CHOI

-My massive washer & dryer :)

-American football Sundays

-Pot lucks

-PUMPKIN EVERYTHING!!!!!

I love this quote by Marilyn Gardner "Our homes are not defined by geography or one particular location, but by memories, events, people, and places that span the globe."

I don't know that Daniel nor I will ever truly feel 100% 'settled' from the moment we met. It was always going to split us between two countries. SO many people ask, why did you make the move? And I think it is hard for either of us to explain. We had such a strong almost 'gravitational pull' like feeling to go experience the UK with our child (and now children). We didn't know where exactly we would live, what our jobs would look like, what our lives would look like, but I think I can speak for the both of us when I say that we feel this was one of the best decisions we ever made and it doesn't have to be for life, but it needs to be for now.

We love and miss you all close and far,

The Davies Family