Three months have past since we said our goodbyes to our life in Sweden. We have been busy settling back in to our Canadian home, school, work and family life. Christmas has come and gone; Graeme has been playing hockey with his former teammates; there have been tests, speeches and plays to prepare for school; and in the midst of all this normalcy, I have to stop and ask myself...was last year a dream? Did we really move our family to Sweden? I recall the feeling I had when we were adjusting to life in a foreign country, that of amazement that we were going about our day-to-day activities just like we had back home. But what I realized when we began our daily life back here in Canada, is how much more energy it took to accomplish those daily tasks in Sweden. Before we left, we were waking the kids at 6:45am, out the door by 7:30am to drive to the subway station to catch the subway for a short ride to the station at the University, where we caught a bus to take them to school. All in all, a 45 minute production! Kris would head off to catch another subway to work, or if it was my good luck to have to take them to school, I would do the trip in reverse. Running errands always involved much more thought and awareness than I was accustomed too: deciphering labels in the grocery stores, guessing at sizes in the clothing stores, paying the appropriate parking fee to avoid receiving an outrageous $50-80 ticket. Starting at two new schools while living in Sweden took alot of work, and at one point in time we had even considered trying the kids at our neighbourhood school where English wasn't taught until Grade 4. Attending football games, reading maps, visiting museums, and listening to the radio...all these and many activities required extra attention and effort to make the most of them. The feeling of success when we accomplished these ordinary tasks made the discomfort of the challenge tolerable. It often felt like we were on a roller coaster ride, the highs were really high, but the lows were sometimes miserable!
We made the most of our time in Sweden, this I know for sure, and this blog is a testament to that! All of the museums, nature walks, city tours, and excursions to outlying areas enriched us considerably. The kids have had their eyes and minds opened to appreciate the vastness of the world and it's people. They have a different outlook now and a great interest in how people of other cultures live. They aren't so quick to judge a person by their appearance and they display a greater tolerance and acceptance of people in all shapes and forms. They've developed an ability to cultivate friendships and also to maintain them from a distance. The relationships that we all formed, individually and as a family, are what we will treasure as time goes by.
There is a great number of people who made our expatriation the success we will be remember it as. Beginning with Kris' employers for proposing the position, to Keirstin, our relocation expert who found us our lovely home. To our neighbours, Helene, Mats, Samuel and Sophie, for their warm welcome and ongoing friendship. To BIPSS, the school where we first tested the international waters and emerged stronger from it. To Rosie, Suzanne and Katrine, expatriates themselves who offered kindness and friendship to me in the quiet early days. To Graeme's hockey organization, for employing such likable and confident teenagers willing to repeat themselves in English for the one little guy who didn't understand a word. To Elise and Renee's football teams, for giving the girls an experience they will never forget. To the parents of the other children on the girls' teams, who welcomed us, and looked after our girls when we weren't there to. To Lasse, Ava and Vigo, who welcomed us into their home and their lives from start to finish. To Lise, our Swedish teacher, who graciously accepted the fact that we were not going to master her language but never shook our fragile confidence. To Shahin and Lovisa, for their youthful friendship and the opportunity to share their wedding day with them as well as a memorable last night in Stockholm. To Jan-Erik, Suzanne, Elin and Philip, for taking such good care of us (we hope to have the chance to return the favour when you visit Florida!). To the enthusiastic teachers at Rödabergsskolan, who made such an impact on our children in just three months that it will last a lifetime. To the kind and fun kids that befriended our children at this school, they will be remembered as a great bunch of kids. To Nadja, for her companionship I am grateful, our conversations made the hours I spent waiting for the girls to finish school fly by! And to Sanjay, a great friend to Graeme, always ready to play. To Scarlet and Jimmy, for the opportunity to reminisce about North America and watch the joy in you as first-time parents to Sydney. To Tara, Ben, Aidan and Seamus, for showing us what true courage is all about as you settle your family in Sweden without the safety net of a big company to fall back on. To Kristi, Mike, Evan, Maggie and Katherine, for sharing our trip to Tallinn and other neighbourly enjoyments! It's amazing to take a few moments to stop and think about all of the people I've mentioned. We are so blessed to have had such great people around us and so thankful for them.
