We have been in Greece for almost two weeks now!!! It still feels surreal, and for me at least, like we’ve just been on a very odd vacation. Today officially starts more of our real life here. The past few weeks, I’ve been very focused on getting Julia settled and keeping her entertained before school started. My mom was here for the past week, which was extremely helpful in that endeavor. We visited the national gardens, the zoo, the beach, and various parks, which was all fun, but felt like we were just visiting rather than making Athens home.
Top: At the Fairytale restaurant, Bottom left: Feeding giraffes at the zoo, Bottom right: Watching the turtles at Athens National Gardens
I am writing this post today from a coffee shop a few minutes away from Julia’s school. We told Julia that she could decide how long she wanted to stay on her first day, so we’re nearby and calling to check in every few hours. I love that her school suggested this and is so supportive of letting her lead this transition at whatever pace she feels comfortable with. I’m definitely feeling all the feels today. As a mom, I’m so happy to see Julia to get started, make new friends, and learn new things. I’m also grieving the loss of my preschooler on this first day of kindergarten. Along with all of that, I’m super nervous and excited to get started in a real routine and figure out what every day life looks like here. So far I haven’t been able to focus at all on what life looks like for me – only for Julia. With her in school, I can do things like figure out my grocery routine without a little shopper wanting to touch and buy everything in the store and drive around and explore without someone demanding a snack every ten minutes. I’ll be able to actually attend clinic days at One Heart and start figuring out what role I will fill there. This is all very exciting and slightly terrifying.
Heading down the stairs, excited for her first day of Kindergarten!
As we have begun our adventure here, we have definitely seen God’s faithfulness and His confirmation that this is where He wants us. Even with everything new around us and amidst the stress of being surrounded by a different culture, I have felt an overall peace about being here that can only be from God. I like the familiar and planned, so my peace and calm during this time of huge transition can only be attributed to His Spirit’s work in me.
Looks like we’ll be signing final paperwork on our house later this week, so we’ll post another update about it then. Thank you for all the prayers and encouragement during our trip over and first days here!
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