I've looked again at my calendar and worked out that there's only 8 weekends left until I actually fly. And in that time, there are trips to Bradford with bestie to see Sarah Millican, to the Isle of Man to see Mum and sister, to Berwick on Tweed to see bestie and husband, to vets for final jabs, to Birmingham for cousins' joint 70th birthday party (they are twins), a Christmas meal with kids and spouses ... as well as the fabulous big wedding for gorgeous daughter! Last weekend I had the best day with her as we sought my mother of the bride outfit - I had booked a personal shopper - Gail - at Debenhams in the White Rose Centre. What a brilliant experience! Lots of lovely things to try on and no rushing about the store, that's what Gail did! I also managed to persuade daughter to let me buy her a "going away outfit" for the plane journey on her honeymoon. So now I'm all set for the wedding on 30 December - such a lovely couple, so proud of them and excited for them.Having planned this move for so long, it's surprising how quickly it's all rushing towards me. I'm still super-excited, but sometimes the fear factor kicks in, particularly when I think about my children and being on the other side of the planet from them, and about being financially stable in Oz.
One of the most touching parts of this long goodbye is the opportunity to catch up with people I like and to re-connect before I depart. I did this on Sunday over in Brantingham (near Hull), in a super pub called The Triton. Lovely food, great atmosphere, fab smell from the log fire - and the chance to get all the gossip from an old friend. Brilliant! And lots of my friends are saying they would like to visit me in Oz one day. I hope that does happen, it would be good for me to maintain contact with my friends network. In terms of jobs in Oz, this has been a week of nothing but set-backs to be honest. The job where I had the interview with the organisational psychologist - remember the dawn interview? The school didn't take me to the final panel interview; and two other posts I'd applied for (deputy jobs) didn't shortlist me. I found that hard - there must be something wrong with the content in my applications? Is it that the employers think my UK education knowledge isn't good enough? Or is it that I'm not yet on the same continent so employers don't think I'm a credible candidate? I don't know. I just know it's hard to hold my nerve in this process.
In terms of my current work, it's been interesting over the last ten weeks - with five weeks to go until I hand over to the new Principal. I am racing to get more of the job done, so that she has less to do in her first term. On Wednesday I joined the other Principals at a London academy - what a privilege it is to walk around someone else's school. I always learn loads from doing that. And that was the last Principals' meeting I'll do in the UK!
I'm still doing yoga each night, whether at home or the digs, with my 25 sit-ups and I've nearly finished the online course for balancing chakras. I'm eating well, with quality food (M&S of course) to ensure I've got enough energy. I'm planning to break up the weeks from now to the end, so that I have a night at home mid-week, to boost my energy levels. I've always known that being in my own space reboots me in a positive way - and I get to see my fur babies too. I'm using every possible method I know to stay calm and focussed, even though I'm about to create a huge disturbance in my own support network. I think realising and accepting that this is a huge deal helps - I'm not just moving house to a neighbouring street, or a new town. I am moving to another hemisphere, time zone, climate, culture and network.
#Australia #BigMove #carpediem #emigration #moving #Queensland #education
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