{"id":17497,"date":"2018-01-05T23:10:11","date_gmt":"2018-01-05T23:10:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thesojournseries.com\/bavaria\/?p=17497"},"modified":"2018-01-06T08:50:12","modified_gmt":"2018-01-06T08:50:12","slug":"one-year-here","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.thesojournseries.com\/bavaria\/one-year-here\/","title":{"rendered":"One Year Here"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A slightly belated Happy New Year.\u00a0 I gave myself a little extended break to start the year, so I could spend time with the family properly without staring at a screen too much…<\/p>\n

Everything festive in our household was delayed somewhat anyway thanks to the most god awful bug that started working its way through the family in the early hours of Christmas morning, and culminated in a dropped (and smashed) case of wine on top of the (now temperamental – can’t say I blame it) hoover, when we were all healthy enough to leave the house finally to make the journey to my sister’s.\u00a0 \u00a0Thankfully we managed to recover enough to celebrate the New Year on time at least, and make up for a little lost time with friends and family, but it’s not a festive season I would like to repeat.\u00a0 \u00a0If for some reason I have to revisit Christmas in a Scrooge like manner one day, I hope the Ghost of Christmas Past forgets that one!<\/p>\n

As we are now back and trying to catch up before school starts on Monday, it’s given me a little time to actually think and reflect that tomorrow marks an entire year of life back in the UK.\u00a0 \u00a0One year here already.\u00a0 The picture above is one of the last that I took as a Munich resident, and I miss it much more than I thought I ever would.<\/p>\n

2017 was a strange year for a lot of reasons.\u00a0 There are days I find myself unable to understand my own country given that I am still quite used to someone elses, which I am sure is normal in the course of repatriation…It’s strange when you invest your whole life somewhere for a long period of time, then suddenly have to forget it all.\u00a0 \u00a0I am a bit German now in a few strange ways – automatically waiting for the green man to appear before dreaming of crossing a road for example.\u00a0 \u00a0My inner German Oma can’t help but wince at English babies without hats on in the cold, and recently at a break in Center Parcs (more on that weird week soon!) I caught myself thinking so many people were going to get sick as they left the swimming dome thing with soaking wet hair.\u00a0 \u00a0I am not going to lie people, there are definitely days I wonder whether we have personally made the right decision in coming back.\u00a0 \u00a0Nothing is forever though obviously, and I am sure we will all feel a lot more settled when we move to a more familiar area of the UK in the next few months (sorry Cambridge, it’s not you…)…\u00a0 \u00a0There’s still the large possibility of another expat move in the next couple of years, so I have decided to try to focus on all the good things about being back (friends, family, Waitrose to name but a few), and try to make the most of it, as of course as fickle as I am, the chances are I will miss this little island of ours with all of my being again one day…<\/p>\n

So 2018, what do you hold?\u00a0 \u00a0I am hoping you are going to be kind to the lot of us?\u00a0 \u00a0Can it be a positive year in so far as all the big stuff is concerned?\u00a0 \u00a0 I also have a favour to ask, as well as a new house to put down some roots for a while, some travel would be much appreciated obviously (we have a list of ideas, along with a few excursions closer to home to show the Small People some more of their own country.\u00a0 And Scotland.\u00a0 \u00a0I have never been, how shocking is that?\u00a0 \u00a0If anyone has any suggestions on that I would be most grateful!\u00a0 \u00a0 My mother also recently suggested that I accompany Mr R on a business trip or two this year and leave her in charge, boy is she going to regret that one!).<\/p>\n

So until I get back on top of things properly, it just remains for me to wish you a Happy New Year properly now that it’s official and all, may it be good to you.\u00a0 I hope it’s started off on the right footing so far…<\/p>\n

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