callé

Hi all! thank you for all the well wishes. Gosh it seems a lifetime since I've been on here. I'm home and I dont know where to start.... ok firstly, its amasing and I have to keep telling myself its real. it's so nice to see family again. Some I see regularly enough as they make trips to the states, but some I havent seen since I was five. It's like meeting them all over again!
and the country itself.... well i'll back up to the trip. The QM2 was like something I would not usually experience. Brilliant!! ( I would recommend to anyone to try to come home on the QM2). The food was fantastic and very very first class. More than you could ever eat and every bite was special. Believe me, you would have to be very rich to eat like that normally. The ship is beautiful with all you could do and more. Pools, exercise, saunas, entertainment,shops, and more. the kennels were great. my pooches and cat were taken very good care of, and even spoilt in fact. It was still hard leaving my dog at night, but we survived. the pet passport stuff went smoothly with no problems. the telly had a channel that kept track of the whole trip so you could see just where we were and how far left. It was exciting to see the progression and England coming ever closer. They have satelite tv and so many channels but the fun part was getting to a point when all the shows and news switched from the American to the British.
I woke early on the last day ( about 4:30 in the morning) and got straight up and looked outside the cabin window ( as if it was drawing me to it). I saw the lights off in the distance and a lighthouse. Then the tears came. What a feeling! driving to the midlands from Southampton was beatiful! rolling hills and countryside. The kids were amased at the size of some of the cars here.
I have been so busy so i havent even been online in over a month! and that was dreadful. getting broadband sorted was a nightmare. more to do with the Italian broadband co taht the people here before us had. they wouldnt clear the broadband line till the end of the month. ?? made no sense to me, but its all sorted now.
How do I feel?? I am on a rollercoaster. I am overjoyed to be home. the people all very friendly, the land beautiful, the little village shops still much like I remembered them. the food is soo good. I have to keep myself from to much cheese and yummy chocolate and lemon curd tarts. we have already tried the local chip shop, gone to the pub and even did the pub quiz last night. it was great fun! I have never walked so much in my life! but its great! evryone walks and my dogs have so much company with all the other dogs taking walkies. Just behind us is a great little walking path through some woods and then some fields and small hills. I could stand out there and look at it forever. thats the very essence of my soul. and I do really wish i were a woodland elf and could live in those magical golden woods forever.
back to reality... the rain is not nearly as bad as some make it out to be. of course living in florida we had lots of rain there as well. The cold isnt so bad either. we were surprised last week with snow and it was a first for my kids. they built a snowman and had snowball fights. I took some pictures and am printing them out for Christmas cards to send back to the states. it was magical. I felt like I was walking through a snowglobe and everywhere looked like a Christmas postcard. We went up to mow cop and looked down around the villages, and it was just fantastic!
the other side of the coin.... my son hasnt been able to get into school yet as the high school here is at capacity and they have us on appeals process. we have a meeting tomorrow. my daughter is supposed to get tested soon to see if she can go straight to A levels and go from there. but the colleges here only have the one starting time (sept.) and she would have to wait till next september to start. So I am a bit panicky over that. No... alot panicky. as everyone we talked to here about the school situation told us dont worry they'll get sorted as soon as you get here. They are both advanced level students who want to go to college, so this gap in there education is scaring me to death.
My son loves it here already and never wants to go back (I know, it's still early) my daughter on the other hand loves it but misses her friends and the education she was comfortable with and she says she will go back eventually but may return here again one day as she likes it here too! My husband was only here for a short time and went back to sort the house in Florida. He says he likes what little he has seen so far. He will be back here in a fortnight.
So to be fair we will have a family meeting next summer to see how everyone feels. I want to stay but I dont want my family split apart and my daughter to live a way from us. I also dont want her to feel much like I have for so long...that she was taken away from birthland and cant quite settle. ( im hoping she will settle more in the time until next summer, but we'll see).
For now I have to absorb all I can and enjoy the time I am here. We will amek the best of it and if my daughter cant get sorted school wise she would still be able to graduate with her class next year if we went back, as she has enough credits to graduate as a junior grad. so at least it keeps that option open. If we had to do that for her education, then we would, and then just start planning fro when she has begun college fro yet another return here. At least now we have done it and have learned a lot. It can be done. Its expensive, but it can be done.
it is still early and scary trying to settle and sort everything out. but my heart feels at peace here. I only hope it works out as this will always be home to me. i do miss my mum and sisters though...much more than I thought. i dont know if I will get used to that or not. One thing I do know. once you emigrate, you change the future of your children. and you never know which ones will settle and which ones will return home. Its scary stuff.
Sorry, to write so much. and that is only some of it! there so much!!
but for now... thank you to all that have supported me and given me invaluable information and friendship.
I cant believe it....I'm home!!

Elvira

Good to hear from you, Calle!

Just wanted to say: I wouldn't panic over the schooling issues just yet. Maybe a mixture of home-schooling plus working would be just the ticket for your son and daughter - help them settle in? (I am assuming they are old enough to work and don't have 'visa issues'...)

All the best!

Always21

Great to hear from you! Thanks for such a long and detailed post. You sound so excited. Please keep us updated over the next few months. I hope you get the school situation sorted out. Good luck.

ladylisa

Oh Calle, its wonderful to hear from you! I felt all emotional reading your post, I know I have never met you but I have been a bit worried about you and logging in every day to see that you were okay I so hoped it would work out well. What I think is good is that you had a good perspective on everything before you left and that will certainly help when things are difficult. If your daughter cant get to study soon I think it would be a good thing for her to look into working maybe in a young office where she could meet people of her own age, or if she is old enough maybe a pub job. She would certainly meet loads of people that way. What part of the country are you now settled in?

Pants

Hi Calle

Welcome home and its just wonderful reading what you have written...straight from the heart....!!! brought tears to my eyes....!!
I do hope the schooling situation gets sorted asap and that your daughter settles ok..still early days isn't it.

Please keep us posted ..all the best
P xxx

dewdrop

Hello Calle,

Oh my gosh! I am so happy you have made it safe and sound. The cruise ship sounded fabulous, you must have felt a Queen for a week. We have been thinking of you. I couldn't believe my eyes why I saw your post. I think I cried thru your whole thing...sappy eh! I just felt that it could be us one day too! And just the thing on how you described what you are seeing, I remind my husband all the time, how beautiful the UK can be and quaint. snow is lovely is small amounts. We are certainly used to the cold/snow/ice here in Ontario for months.

I hope your children get the school thing sorted.

This is one reason why I ache to get my children over while they are young, so too, they won't miss the birthland too much. and just may want to visit Canada rather than move.

Has your husband settled into his new enviroment?

Thanks for the detailed post....we missed U.
Deana

ladyofthelake

Hi Calle
So glad to see you're back, I jumped on this thread as soon as I saw it. We've all been waiting to hear how you're doing.
You sound so excited, so glad you are enjoying it.
It's still very early days for your daughter, she probably needs to get into school/college or at the very least a job of some kind to help make her feel more settled. Once she's made some new friends, and got back on track with her education, she may not be in such a rush to go back.

Keep us posted!

clydegirl

Glad to hear you made it home.I felt so homesick reading your post.All the very best to you and your family.

britvic

Those of us that want to return would not fail to have tears in our eyes reading your post, so pleased for you Calle, thankyou so much for letting us all know how things are wishing you and yours the very best xxx.

glittababe

congrats calle, its great to hear you so positive! Enjoy a real xmas hey?

MrsB

After reading all your posts to the build-up of your departure - it's great to read how you are doing. Glad that you are home safe, and are enjoying it.

On the education front, "A" levels can be done at a Technical College, they don't necessarily have to be done at a school, although at college, the students are expected to get on with it a bit more themselves, and the environment is a bit more "grown up". It's worth looking into.......

Becs

Your daughter can do her A-Levels at a college, rather than a school sixth form. My sister is at Cambridge Regional, and loves it, while I did my IB Diploma (like A-Levels, but International) at a school and felt like a six year old the whole time, because we were treated like the younger students . Your daughter might appreciate the extra freedom.

Welcome back by the way, and I'm glad your journey went so well !

-Becs

Lizzi

Welcome home Calle. We probably can't afford it but if we can we'll take that ship home too!!
It must be a hard transition for your you and your family in a lot of ways. That's alot of years you've all lived in the USA. I wish you all the best whatever the outcome.
Thanks for such a wonderful post.

suffolkdino

oooh, all these messages are making me very homesick...and very happy for you all! i used to work at Cambridge Regional college - my old boss phoned me at the weekend and said i can have my old job back easter if i want...
thing is everyone else is settled here but me (but i can wish....) keep up updated all you who have made the move - it gives us without hope some inspiration. love to you chrissy xxx

dunroving

What a great post, and so helpful for those of us looking to move back. Very balanced - great to be back but recognizing it's not all a bed of roses. That's the attitude you need to make this work.

Wish you the best of luck!