it's getting better all the time

June 21, 2020

it's getting better all the time

In the words of the sage Mountain Dad, things have really done a 180 around here. It was honestly in a matter of days that the kids returned to school full-time, we began socialising with new friends and Shea and I began picking up work. It feels like we've hit the ground running and are loving the frolic with our Australian life.

The kids have enjoyed the return to school, relishing in the social side of things. There wasn't the same reluctance as when they first began school here. Each day they are happy to head off, though I must admit, we really were enjoying our version of home school. Our Little Laide turned nine a week ago and we were able to celebrate it with a handful of her new friends to a party at our house. I remember that when Covid isolation measures were first introduced, one of the many things that were discussed in our house was the question of whether or not Adelaide would actually be able to have a party. It was beautiful to be able to make it happen on her actual birthday.

Mountain Dad is finding gainful employment working on my brothers deck and supporting an outdoor recreation program at TAFE, our version of Yukon College. He's connected with a group of neighbours here, who head out one evening a week for a walk out along our break wall and around the Stockton peninsula. The soccer team that had been on the cards for a March start up, has begun un-official 'kick arounds' and the connection is doing our extroverted Mountain Dad lots of good. He's bought an industrial sewing machine, of which he is inordinately proud, and now finds himself stressed about not having enough time for all his projects and hobbies. Nothing changes.

As for me, I had a call out of the blue, about three weeks ago, from a local Special School, asking if I could teach three days a week for the duration of this term. I've absolutely loved having my own class of five unique, hilarious and challenging young people. I went home for the first few nights with a thumping headache, but am finding my feet with it now. Though the school has asked me to stay, I have accepted the position at a local Grammar School that I had been offered back in March. The role is as a Learning Support Teacher, very similar to my role in Whitehorse, and being an independent school, they can pay me a higher wage than the public system can. It will be a job until December, when we begin the game of finding work, again.

We're happy, healthy and loving that we can finally get into the swing of a settled Australian life. Mountain Dad extols the winter weather, which here, is typically mornings of 13 degrees celsius warming to a beautiful 20 degrees and bluebird, sunny skies. "This is PERFECT!" he keeps telling me, then usually goes on to mutter, "there's no way I can be a tradesman here in summer."

We're hoping he gets the deck done before it begins warming...

Happy winter solstice friends.