So this week started off a bit rough, I must admit. I’ve been feeling desperately homesick lately. I miss my people. It occurs to me that part of why I loved staying home with the kids in Ottawa was that I got to go on regular morning coffee dates with friends and family, or park dates with fellow Ottawa parents, or random trips to museums and Chapters and the like. These outings really broke up my week, plus Ewan loved them. Then there were the regular dinners with friends on Fridays and Saturdays, outings with Andrew, and so on and so on.

I’m currently carless and unable to take public transportation. Access to museums is thus cut off for now, as are playgroups that are too far away. There are no Chapters-like book shops or libraries for the kids nearby, and obviously the friends and family part is lacking too. We haven’t landed a babysitter yet, and while we are starting to meet people, I can’t host any dinners until our stuff gets here. So nothing breaks up my week, and thus the days seem to stretch out endlessly before me. Depressing.

In my experience, the only way to overcome depressing phases such as this is to make plans. Making plans gives my life purpose. It also makes living here seem more real – rather than floating around in a state of sort-of-almost-not-quite-maybe-this-is-all-a-weird-dream settled, plans help solidify the fact that yes, I do live here and no, I can’t go home until we’ve completed this post. There’s no point moping around missing things – I’ve got three years of my life before me in Israel and I might as well fill it with Awesome.

And so, over a particularly amusing Thursday lunch with the kids (Figs was making prune-y faces at Budsie and he, in return, was teaching her how to make cucumber sandwiches), I began to plan the Awesome. Because I won’t always be carless – that situation should change soon. And I won’t always be at home with the kids – Budsie will be off to school next year, and the possibility might open up to have Figs go to nursery school when she’s 18 months. And it’s this possibility that led me to wonder if maybe I shouldn’t try to check off a big ol’ bucket list item that I’ve wanted to do for years. I can’t really work much here, after all, so why not take this opportunity to do something for me?

With that, my plan to become a yoga instructor is in motion…