When Routine Bites Hard… Get me to Australia Quick!

Has anyone else found the last few weeks a real struggle?

I have been trying to sit and reflect on what exactly has made them feel so difficult for me and it always helps for me to write these feelings down.

The summer months in the UK (despite the lack of that yellow thing in the sky!) were really enjoyable in the Half the World Away household. From bodyboarding in Newquay to pub lunches and a wonderful holiday in Turkey, the family activities and downtime were just what everyone in our house needed.

South Australia nominating us to apply for our visa towards the end of the summer holiday was the icing on the cake! It was just a great couple of months and we felt refreshed to start a new academic year.

Fast forward to a dark October weekend and things could not feel more different. Usually, I profess that the ‘ber’ months in the UK are my favourite. I have always been an Autumn-Winter person.

However, the older I get I really don’t think I am! The visions of kicking through the colourful leaves, enjoying hot chocolates and cosy nights in just feel like a distant memory.

September was the wettest on record! The long-term average rainfall was up by 249% which just seems ridiculous. Let’s face it, it wasn’t just rain either, it was daily torrential downpours. Yes, we British love to complain about the weather but this really takes the biscuit! Football matches for our son were constantly cancelled, we couldn’t enjoy a walk outdoors because of the storms and looking at the dark grey skies each day really didn’t do much for the mind.

Normally, I absolutely love a new school year. I love the crisp uniforms and bags, the new stationery, the excitement of what is to come, setting goals and targets and planning all of the lovely Autumnal events. I also had a mixture of emotions this year that this could be our last September start and potentially our last Autumn in the UK so wanted to feel like I was making the most of it. But the start of the year has been absolutely chaotic. Yes, it is always busy. But not like this.

There has been some tragic news at both the school I work at and the school my daughter attends. This has been difficult to deal with but at the same time, it should be making me appreciate life more!

Coupled with the awful weather, it feels like the nights have got darker much more quickly this year. Going out in the dark and coming home in the dark has affected me more and more as I have got older. The lack of the outdoors and vitamin D really impacts mental health and despite trying to get outside as much as possible during the day, this is usually beyond my control during a working day.

Whilst I know that in reality these issues really are pretty superficial in isolation, they are making things pretty tricky right now. I don’t want to finish our time here in the UK feeling so negative towards life as we have said before how lucky we are. We have everything we need, we live comfortably, have great jobs and an amazing family. However, I also know that there may be other people feeling this way and I always think it is important to share that all emotions are normal. This is all ok.

To get through this little hurdle I am trying to:

• Cheer myself up by making Christmas lists and starting some shopping
• Planning Halloween events for the kids as it might be their last one here
• Looking forward to our trip to London for our medicals, some sightseeing and some retail therapy
• Starting to sort the house out and sell some of our stuff to raise funds for our move down under
• Exercise- even on those days when you can’t think of anything worse get 10 minutes done! You will feel so much better afterwards and will thank yourself for it.

Everything is temporary, we got this.