hot

Like most wee people our two children did not enjoy the recent spell of hot weather. They struggled to sleep and toddlers just don't get that you need to slow down when it is hot! This is not very reassuring for moving to Africa. People keep telling me that the children will adapt but I do worry. However the good news is that it's really quite chilly in Blantyre at the moment - about 13 degrees! I am sure that the locals are not appreciating the cold spell but it will be good for us to not struggle with the heat as well as cultural change. It means that we will be able to play outside without worry of heat/sunburn.

We may have to do a bit of shopping before we go as we have sent all our warm clothes in the container, keeping only one jumper each.

friends and boxes

Life is a rather peculiar mix of spending as much time with friends, seeing friends for the last time and packing up the house. The decorators start this week so that the house will be looking its best ready for renting. If you know anyone who would like to rent a delightful 3 bed cottage next door to the village pub please let us know! We would all prefer to be with our friends but there is still an awful lot to do at the house.

a spoonful of sugar

Today is the day that we start our anti-malarial drugs. We all have to take one a week for the next three years. The children have to take 1/4 of a tablet, this is based on their weight so it may increase. Apparently the best way to get kids to take them is in a spoonful of jam, so just like Mary Poppins said "a spoonful of sugar ...".

under pressure

Those of you who knew me as a student will remember that I do not work well under pressure. I was the student who had to have my work in the week before it was due (and before everyone else). The pressure is on here, the shipping co. arrive on Tues to pack us up and the container comes on Wed. The hardest thing is making sure that as much as possible goes in the container so that we don't have too much left to put in the luggage.

Anyway back to the packing and sorting.

chaos

Just a short blog today as there is so much to do! We ship in just one week. The shipping company pack all our stuff so this process should be quite smooth, however customs in Malawi require a complete list of everything that we are taking. This involves sorting out everything and counting it. The pile of things that we are taking has been reduced because the effort of listing it has made us quite ruthless!

leaving

I am starting to realise what leaving will involve. I always knew that one of things I rely on a lot are my friends and family and this adventure will challenge us. The problem with challenges is that they can seem a good idea until you have to actually face them. I remember agreeing to absail down a very large waterfall in Australia, it sounded fun but when faced with a big drop and lots of water I was scared. I am also afraid of failing, I set off to climb Mont Blanc a few years ago and I never made it to the top, I had a heavy cold but part of me fears that I just couldn't do it.

It's very hard not to talk about the trip all the time, it's becoming a bit all consuming. We went out for dinner last night (very rare occurrence) and all we did was talk about how many pairs of trousers to take and which day we should fly. We need to remember to live in the now and enjoy what's going on around us, share our children's achievements and fun and stop boring our friends with stresses over shipping companies and which plates to take. There is an excellent poem by Helen Mallicoat called I Am (link below) which is reminding me to live in today, with God.
www.wowzone.com/iam.htm

Going Home

I still catch myself referring to my parent's house as home. We had a lovely time there this weekend. For those of you who don't know Wash House it can be cold in the winter but the wonderful garden makes it great when it's sunny! As we set off we realised that next time we're "home" will be just before we fly out of the UK in about 7 weeks. The photo was taken 2 years ago while we were playing croquet.

We met up with my school friends, which just like old times when we used to often have bar-b-ques round at mine. I'm not sure when we will all be together again as there are two families living abroad and we may not be back at the same time. Although a rendez vous somewhere half way between Australia and Africa sounds much more exotic, although less nostalgic. They were all talking about the next meet up, which will probably be at New Year, when we won't be there. Apparently this is the "leaving stage" of moving abroad, when you realise that life goes on after you move abroad.