We have been in London for exactly 7 weeks today. In some ways, life has gotten easier... I can now cross the street without panicking and people are starting to come back from holiday. However, obstacles keep coming, some big, some small.
The law of averages are always against you. I have been vigilant about keeping 7 years worth of records close at hand. Not even 3 months after putting all those files in a storage container somewhere in the outskirts of Charlotte, NC, we are being audited by the IRS! I don't really know what else to say about that. Tony said not to write anything disparaging about the IRS - you know, the Big Brother is watching kind of thing.
Isabelle and I went to a new family coffee at the American School. For the first 45 minutes, Isabelle stood behind my legs and nobody approached us to talk to her. She asked if she could go back to JV Washam with her friends. We both were on the verge of crying in the school gym. Finally, we saw another family standing much the same way we were and started talking to them. Their daughter is a year older than Izzie but they hit it off immediately. They have just moved here from Connecticut. As I talked to her parents, I learn that her mother actually works for the same parent company as Tony... small world!
We are trying out the National Health Care System. Logan started to get another ear infection so I took him in. First off, a lot of the doctor buildings here are not like back home. They are in old buildings/homes and don't have that warm, fuzzy sterile feeling to them. I was concerned we would have trouble getting in but I was able to get Logan in the next day. So we go in, see the doctor who says he's alright. She says I'll write you a script because that's what people who are coming from private insurance expect but I don't think you should give it to him. Now don't get me wrong, she was real nice about telling me that we Americans over medicate our kids : ) But my biggest shock comes when checking out which is you don't check out. When you are done with the doctor you just leave! No paperwork and NO cost, at all!!! As matter of fact, if I do decide to over medicate my kid that will be free too!!
The Food. What can I say about that? Apparently a lot. Tony says I complain about it often. It's not so good, plain and simple. All things made with beef taste funny. Everything we have try to bake (brownies, cookies, etc...) come out chewy but not in good way. All the cereals I have tried have a stale taste to them. I could go on and on, however, Tony has suggested that I try to have a better attitude (about the food and our life here in general)! He suggests that I should find enjoyment in different tastes and look at everything as a grand adventure. Well, damn why didn't I think of that. It's easy for someone who has been here 6 months already, has become a world traveller and goes to work everyday without children who are still adjusting to have such insight. So I guess I am going to try to be more... positive. I'm just hoping Mary Poppins will come on by and give me a spoon full of sugar to help it all go down!!
