I have never thought of myself as a stay-at-home mom, mostly because I have never had the patience to entertain a child for the whole day. Moving to Germany, I knew that was going to be my life. Finding things to do, new adventures, new craft every day, dealing with tantrums and trying to find a balance between me being an adult and me getting submerged in a deluge of Baby Shark. Needless to say, it is exhausting. Seriously, how do stay at home moms do it? Going to client meetings, travelling in peak hour traffic, work stress – nothing compares to being a non-stop mom, on call 24/7. There is not one moment of alone time. Except when you go for a bath, but even then, there will be a tiny voice outside the door asking if you are done yet. The other day we were at the park, and I see that my son is playing by himself, there is no need for Mama right then. He’s got sand, he’s got a spade, he’s found a leaf and he’s digging a hole to bury the leaf. In about ten minutes I will be summon
Having lived my whole life in one city, in one country I must admit that leaving everything I have ever known behind and joining my husband across the world was, well, challenging. We were moving to a small industrial town of Duisburg in Germany. Looking at the place on google, it was the least fascinating of all the cities in Europe. I had no idea what I was in for, but I knew I that my ‘year in Europe’ sounded super cool, and nothing else, it would make for a great hashtag for social media. My husband had one shipment from his company that allowed him to send everything he needed to this new unknown place. That was left up to me. I must admit I had a bit of a panic attack. Sending a life in a cardboard box seemed too daunting for me. I carefully chose toys, books, clothes and food that we may possibly need in this new unknown. Despite my midnight google-ing of this small town, I had no idea what it had to offer. Let me let you in on one of the most random panic questions that cross