Where to begin??? Between a global pandemic and an international move life has been busy! I know that goes to say for most of the world too...after the initial shock of the first lock down we are now in the third wave, I believe. It's incredible how it has become our new normal. We don't question wearing masks, applying hand sanitizer or getting our temperature checked...anyway I am not here to talk about the pandemic, I think you have all heard enough.
Instead I will share a few thoughts on how it has affected us:
- First, my marriage almost dissolved after the first lockdown. I have heard that divorce rates have gone up and I am not surprised. I was almost one of them. Tony Robbins talks about proximity being key to successful relationships but my husband and I are both very independent and being locked down was really challenging for us.
- Luckily for us, my husband received a job offer in Kenya in August and so he moved in September. The excitement of moving to Africa, having another income and starting a new life certainly invigorated positive energy into our relationship.
- We joined him in October and while we had planned on only staying for 2 weeks to get back to school, we opted to stay put as the second lockdown was happening in France. So here we are in Kenya for about 4 months.
- Besides our relationship, the pandemic has shown all of us that there is no certainty. It was always an illusion but it made it obvious. We had certainly taken traveling for granted, going to school, eating out...what did you take for granted?
- I have also heard success stories, like children making massive strides while online learning and spending more time with family. Do you have a success story you would like to share?
On a final note, we have just rescued 2 kittens while on vacation at the coast of Kenya. I am not a cat lover and I am allergic but these two kittens were left alone and my daughter found them under a rock...say hello to Rusty and Scooby. It was quite an event to get them on a plane in 48 hours but the power of community prevailed. Kenya is quite remarkable when it comes to helping one another- it's no surprise that when one says it takes a village to raise a child it is literally they way they do it here...within 48 hours we were connected to a tour operator who reached out to the airline (as the airline had a no pet policy on their website) who agreed for us to take the kittens back to Nairobi, then connected to the vet who filled out the paperwork and lent us his crate, as being in a small town off the coast of Kenya finding a crate was impossible. So here is a success story in kindness and solidarity for all you pet lovers!!!
