Well I do and I don't.....
This weeks 'inspired' by Kate on thin ice, #grooving mums is all about 'Getting out there'
There will come a time when I don't feel the need to say 'since moving to South Africa' but at the moment I feel the need to keep saying it to explain why I lost my groove.
40 years of friendships, family, familiarity went over night, in fact the night of the 18th January 2011 when we flew to Johannesburg.
Yes it's fun and exciting, no the weather doesn't help, believe it or not we had burst water pipes in July when the temperature dropped to -5c and right now temps of 30c+ is too much for me. I don't know what to expect of the seasons, but right now living in these temperatures is very different from 2 weeks holidays. Anyway I digress.....
My groove is coming back. I've joined a gym. http://www.chickenruby.com/2011/11/blogging-from-gym.html
I've been volunteering with @santashoebox http://www.chickenruby.com/2011/11/baby-house.html
I'm also volunteering with The Baby House http://www.chickenruby.com/2011/11/baby-house.html
So I'm getting there and #groovingmums is helping, it is making me focus on a task each week and to do something about it, I can't follow some of the challenges that are set, for example going to the library, I went to go last week, but there was a shooting.
I do talk to strangers, but this isn't a country where people sit bump into one another in a cafe and strike up a conversation, the school run is just that. I've turned into a 4x4 school run mum. I had a 4x4 in the UK but my kids walked, cycled or caught the bus to school, here I arrive at the gate in my 4x4, sunglasses and *Radley handbag, stop long enough for the kids to chuck their bags into the boot and we're off.
The internet is crap here, as in on or off and very, v e r y, slow, uploading pics is a night mare, as I'm using the computer in the gym I'll have to add some pictures when my lap top has been fixed.
I was forced to go up to see a neighbour last night after tea, hubby said 'just go, you never used to be in' and I had a fab hour up there drinking wine and gossiping, nattering, god how I miss that, just being able to chat with someone without having to time the phone calls or skype with the time difference.
I have dates for coffee and lunch that I've initiated and an all day party at some botanical gardens end of November, my step son is coming out for 10 days, then me and the boys fly back to the UK for the first 3 weeks of December, they haven't seen their dad for a year, then my Mother in Law is out for January.
It all looks good fun and busy, but it's been a long and difficult battle and all of the lovely things coming up do leave me rather flat when life goes on as normal, as I don't do normal, I don't do hours in my own company day after day. I need things to level out to stop the ups and downs.
I guess it took me 40 years to get where I was and I was happy, I was going somewhere, I had independence, freedom, a career, family, friends and now I've just got to start again...time to reinvent myself, take on new challenges, have new experiences...I just need a bit of help to get going and #groovingmums is giving me that.
*Radley handbag...small and compact, can be worn over the shoulder and tucked under the car seat, feel much safer with it than a larger bag.
This weeks 'inspired' by Kate on thin ice, #grooving mums is all about 'Getting out there'
There will come a time when I don't feel the need to say 'since moving to South Africa' but at the moment I feel the need to keep saying it to explain why I lost my groove.
40 years of friendships, family, familiarity went over night, in fact the night of the 18th January 2011 when we flew to Johannesburg.
Yes it's fun and exciting, no the weather doesn't help, believe it or not we had burst water pipes in July when the temperature dropped to -5c and right now temps of 30c+ is too much for me. I don't know what to expect of the seasons, but right now living in these temperatures is very different from 2 weeks holidays. Anyway I digress.....
My groove is coming back. I've joined a gym. http://www.chickenruby.com/2011/11/blogging-from-gym.html
I've been volunteering with @santashoebox http://www.chickenruby.com/2011/11/baby-house.html
I'm also volunteering with The Baby House http://www.chickenruby.com/2011/11/baby-house.html
So I'm getting there and #groovingmums is helping, it is making me focus on a task each week and to do something about it, I can't follow some of the challenges that are set, for example going to the library, I went to go last week, but there was a shooting.
I do talk to strangers, but this isn't a country where people sit bump into one another in a cafe and strike up a conversation, the school run is just that. I've turned into a 4x4 school run mum. I had a 4x4 in the UK but my kids walked, cycled or caught the bus to school, here I arrive at the gate in my 4x4, sunglasses and *Radley handbag, stop long enough for the kids to chuck their bags into the boot and we're off.
The internet is crap here, as in on or off and very, v e r y, slow, uploading pics is a night mare, as I'm using the computer in the gym I'll have to add some pictures when my lap top has been fixed.
I was forced to go up to see a neighbour last night after tea, hubby said 'just go, you never used to be in' and I had a fab hour up there drinking wine and gossiping, nattering, god how I miss that, just being able to chat with someone without having to time the phone calls or skype with the time difference.
I have dates for coffee and lunch that I've initiated and an all day party at some botanical gardens end of November, my step son is coming out for 10 days, then me and the boys fly back to the UK for the first 3 weeks of December, they haven't seen their dad for a year, then my Mother in Law is out for January.
It all looks good fun and busy, but it's been a long and difficult battle and all of the lovely things coming up do leave me rather flat when life goes on as normal, as I don't do normal, I don't do hours in my own company day after day. I need things to level out to stop the ups and downs.
I guess it took me 40 years to get where I was and I was happy, I was going somewhere, I had independence, freedom, a career, family, friends and now I've just got to start again...time to reinvent myself, take on new challenges, have new experiences...I just need a bit of help to get going and #groovingmums is giving me that.
*Radley handbag...small and compact, can be worn over the shoulder and tucked under the car seat, feel much safer with it than a larger bag.
