Yesterday afternoon I was drowning in work and sick as a dog when I realized January 9th is our two month anniversary in Norway. My first thought was, "has it really been two months?" My mind's response was "yes, and what a couple of months;" with the next thought being "the honeymoon is over and now the real work begins."
Yesterday, the holidays officially ended and 2013 really began. Maddie returned to school, Janet checked out a Norwegian preschool for James, and I realized the first 60 days of getting used to my job was over.
During the last two months we have dealt with an international move, busted front teeth, an ambulance ride, hospital stay in a foreign country, new school, new job, snow and ice driving, extreme sticker shock, Christmas shopping in Norway, Scandinavian snow suits, lots of snow, furnishing a house and a partridge in a pear tree.
Surprisingly or not I am happy the honeymoon is over and we have stuff to do.
At Work
My outlook at work for the next couple of months is busy.
I have to inspect my buildings and develop work plans and budgets, take care of challenging personnel issues, keep people safe and happy, manage a bunch of projects, make the embassy "green", play politics, go to Iceland, support Iceland as we plan a $30 million dollar renovation, and get myself and the facility management office ready to take over operations at the new embassy when complete.
At School
Janet has started the Mom taxi service.
Monday James starts Norwegian preschool called Barnepark. He'll get to put his orange snowsuit to good use while spending 4 hours a day outside in all weather, playing in a controlled environment. My understanding is that it is all play. There is very little structure other than sitting down for lunch. Janet was telling me that kids who still take naps just crawl into a stroller have a blanket thrown on top and sleep outside. How Norwegian!
Madeline also picks up the activity level at school. Next week she starts swimming and cross country ski classes. Outside of school she starts ballet. I may have said this before but we are really happy with the school. There are less than 15 kids in her class and she has two teachers. She has a really nice little group of classmates. She has recess 3 times per day outside and she seems to be learning a lot.
At Home
Janet and I are working our hardest to make sure our kids are loved, fed, bathed, safe, educated, and have a strong belief in Christ. The work we do in the home is definitely the most challenging and rewarding. It changes every day, yet requires tons of planning, patience and energy. Janet is definitely up to the task; I am amazed by her endurance and ability to keep things rolling along.
Janet is a pro while I often feel the amateur. The other day I was in charge of the kids and was having a tough morning. All three kids were really grumpy all morning. By about 1:00 things were getting really bad when Janet came in and asked what was wrong. After some thought, I realized I hadn't eaten anything and the kids had only eaten chocolate chips and milk. She quickly whipped together a substantive lunch and got us back on track.
I am grateful Janet keeps everything running well at home. While I always wish I was doing more, I am confident that Janet has things well in hand at home. All I need to do is walk in the door after work with my game face on and a willingness to play, read, listen, read scriptures, and tell scary cave-bowling or Todo the frog stories.
Time to Work
Yes, I realize this post is just a bunch of to-do lists, speaking of which, I need to make a to-do list. Anyway, we've been her two months and it is time to get to work. I suspect we'll have no shortage of stories to tell and pictures to share as we get to work with the business of life.
