Journeys

Today is day 6 away from my kids. The chance of a new career adventure in my life has meant that I have had to attend a training course for a couple of weeks in another state and although the initial prospect of that was exciting and very very welcomed, I knew that it might get a little tough around the day 7 mark. I have previously been on a holiday, internationally, with my girlfriends for a week, and I made it through pretty much unscathed. My return home seemed to be timed perfectly with the peak of missing my family. I returned and as with most holidays , after a few days it felt like I had never been.

Despite the wonders of modern technology there really is nothing that comes even close to holding your kids and feeling their hearts beating through their chest onto yours, or hearing their slow shallow, peaceful breathes as they sleep when you go in to kiss them that one hundredth time before you go to bed.

I have been talking to them everyday, the last few days we have used face time, but in all honesty that makes me miss them more as I get to see their sad despondent faces as they tell me that they miss me and ask how many more sleeps it is until I get home.

I got to thinking tonight that if I was to do this again , (and in my new job it is quite certain that I will have to) , what is it that I might change or do in order to make it easier for the kids, ( and also me )!

Here is what I came up with

♥Buy the kids a journal each and get them to write each day at bed time what the best things about their day were and how they were feeling , all for me to read when I get back !

♥Keep regular contact and check in with them pretty consistently every day and pre warn them if there is going to be an evening that you may not be able to talk due to other commitments

♥Utilise FaceTime or Skype where possible so that your kids can actually SEE you. This will help reassure them that you are okay ….

♥Most importantly, totally talk up the reason that you had to go away in the first place. The kids have known for ages that I was going to embark on a new challenge so that I could change jobs and that it involved having to go away for a few weeks to train to be able to do that job.What I talked about most however, was that this was something that I had never done before, and that I was going to have to learn so many new things that I had no idea about and although I found that very scary, I knew that I could do absolutely anything that I set my mind to.
Leaving my family for this long has ABSOLUTELY been one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. Its like your right arm, left arm and your right leg is missing. You feel very misplaced.

On the flip side however, I will go home from this experience with a whole new skill set. I will have achieved things that I never thought that I could achieve and I will appreciate what I have and the opportunities I have been given.

Life is so wonderful and amazing ! Make sure you share that with your kids ! The gift of wonder, excitement, and racing at full speed towards your dreams are some of the greatest gifts you can give your child.

Don’t take anything for granted. Enjoy and appreciate the little things in life because one day you will look back and realise they were the big things.