When you forget that you are planning to move to Australia…

The last few weeks have been absolutely ridiculous…in a good but extremely busy way!

Summer term at school is always chaotic. There is so much going on and so much to remember, both as a parent and as a school leader. I tell myself each year that it gets even more hectic and wonder how we ever possibly got through the previous year. But we do. And we live to tell the tale! 

I think it partly has something to do with the fact that our children, especially our daughter, have taken up more interests and hobbies as they have got older and also in our own plight to get fitter and live healthier lives, we have too.

Cue weekends filled with football tournaments, Taekwondo British Championships, Flag Football days, Gymnastics competitions, running events, obstacle courses and Taekwondo gradings. It’s safe to say that we have in fact been very, very busy. 

There have been days, and I feel silly for admitting it, that I have literally forgotten about Australia. As in, the fact that we are in the process of moving our whole lives there, not that it exists as a country.

I felt really guilty for admitting this to my husband the other night but then I reflected on it and realized that it might actually be a good thing? 

When we first started the process, I was literally obsessed with the thought of moving. The process, the idea and all of the research – I couldn’t get enough. So much so, that I was starting to get on my own nerves.

The time and effort I put into revising and preparing for the English test was verging on ridiculous.

This only became worse once I had submitted my skills assessment and I would refresh my emails about 25 times a day to see if there was any news.

After submitting our expression of interest, I think I quickly realized that I couldn’t live in this heightened state of alert permanently and have resigned myself to the fact that this part of the process really does take its time. I gave myself permission to remember to enjoy my life in the UK whilst I am still here and to embrace all the ‘busy’ parts. 

After all, there are many reasons that I enjoy my life here and it is crucial to not get bogged down in the ‘waiting’ for something else. I am still as keen on moving to Australia as I was when we first invested in this process and embarked on this journey, but I realise that there needs to be a balance between planning for our new life and enjoying what we still have here.

I know from chatting with others on our Instagram that I am not alone in these confusing thoughts so if you too are driving yourself crackers, just remember that it will happen. Be patient and enjoy what comes in the meantime.