Daddy Day-Care

A seasoned missionary mum who has spent many years in Peru shared with some of the apprentice wives here the most important thing she thought was useful before heading anywhere overseas. She said you need to make sure your priorities are in order and that you and your husband are on the same page. 

These are the priorities which she knows from experience are so important ...

1. She said that your family is the single most important thing and you should always put them first. If you don't prioritise those closest to you, they will feel neglected, you will all suffer, be less effective & probably struggle to stay on the field.
2. Secondly, you should prioritise the mission that you work for especially your fellow workers. In order for you to be the most effective team and example to those you are serving, you need to ensure you are working well with and encouraging your co-workers, towards the same goal. 
3. Thirdly, and only once the first two are in place, are you ready to serve those your mission is there for. While they are equally important, without looking inward and putting your family and co-workers first you are never going to be as effective at looking outward and helping where the need is.

I love my girlies to bits ... but these last few days I have been really unwell and not been able to be the mummy I need to be for them. I have been SO grateful that here at MMS Aviation they are really understanding and let the guys put their families first, especially as most of us are so far from our family networks. It has meant that Mark has been able to stay at home and pick up my slack.

As a family we're very rarely sick for more than a day or two ... but on Saturday we will all have been officially sick for a whole month at varying degrees ... very frustrating!!! While I know that Mark would rather be in the hangar having some 'boy-time' ... he has been the perfect hubby and daddy looking after all three of his girlies in spite of not feeling 100% himself still! I am so lucky to have such a great guy by my side to be on this adventure with ... even during the 'sucky' stuff!

Chocolate

Someone once said ... 'Chocolate in the morning is what makes moms get through their day' ... I suspect that this could be universally applied to every woman on the planet! 

Our 3 year old daughter is a big fan already. In fact she didn't ever have any sweets (candy) or chocolate until her first birthday, when she had a chocolate birthday cake. Now there is no stopping her and she tells everyone 'I don't like sweets, just chocolate'!

One thing that we noticed soon after we moved to the States is that the chocolate here just doesn't cut it. We even did an unofficial test taste ourselves over the summer when my sister-in-law came to visit. As a result of that, I found several of my American friends asking for the opportunity to try out some of the Brit chocolate too. 

So, while we were in the UK I stocked up and this weekend with Abigail's help, sorted it all out and let some of my American friends see what 'real' chocolate tastes like!! We find the US chocolate a lot more bitter and less creamy ... but we were yet to know how our friends would rate it!

Interestingly (and no offence to my American friends), it seems that the British taste palate is a lot more discerning when it comes to the delicacies of chocolate. For example where the Brits can taste the difference between similar bars, like KitKats which are just made with different chocolate (Hershey's in the US and Nestle in the UK) and a totally different taste experience, the Americans don't seem to notice.

One of the favourites of the afternoon was a Cadbury's Crunchie, honeycomb centre covered in chocolate. But Cadbury's Flake didn't rate very highly at all, with comments like 'they sucked out all the moisture to make the chocolate crumbly and now it's sucked all the moisture out of my tongue'!! 

I believe that in so many areas of life, what you grow up with and are most familiar with is what you favour ... and that goes for chocolate too. I was under no illusions that I would convert my American friends to British chocolate ... just give them a chance to try something new and different. If you live in a different culture, try having a chocolate tasting afternoon of your own ... it was so much fun!

Someone else once said 'If they don't have chocolate in heaven, I ain't going' ... I'm guessing then that there will be a whole variety of chocolate to suit all the international preferences!!

'Couch Surfing'

Couchsurfing was not a term I was familiar with until we moved to the States. I was introduced to it by a friend of mine. Her daughter was sharing a rented apartment in Atlanta and from time-to-time they had couchsurfers stop over for a night or two as they were passing through the city.

Couchsurfing is defined by Wikipedia as ...

 'a neologism referring to the practice of moving from one friend's house to another, sleeping in whatever spare space is available, floor or couch, generally staying a few days before moving on to the next house'

It seems that couchsurfing is an up and coming practice ... a way of staying somewhere without having to pay for expensive hotels, a way of experiencing the local culture firsthand, a new more adventurous way of travelling round the world. There is even a dedicated website for couchsurfing to enable all those involved to keep in touch etc.

While I am torn between thinking it would be both an exciting but also slightly dangerous way of travelling ... as you never quite know who you might end up with ... I am grateful that I have lots of friends strategically placed around the world who I could stay with instead!

The last few weeks my husband and I have been doing our own variation of couchsurfing which I am sure most parents have experienced more than once. As one or other of our girls have been sick continuously recently, we've been taking it in turns to sleep on the couch with whoever needs us while the other parent gets a good night sleep! In a two bedroomed house, the sofa is the next best thing to a bed!

This little bout of sickness started while we were in the UK ... so we've been busy comparing the comfort levels of different peoples sofas! We've had everything from an old saggy 2-seater, to a comfy reclining one. Ours rates somewhere in the middle as it was a second-hand one we bought from a previous family who were training with MMS Aviation ... not our first choice, but it does the job!

Yesterday I was chatting to Mark and we were commenting that neither of us can actually remember the last time we spent the whole night in bed together!! Sad but true! And it's not even because one of us is away, we've had an argument or something else like that! At the moment we're not sure when it will change either ... hopefully only a few more nights as everyone seems to be slowly getting better! If we're not quick enough in the morning to clear the sofa ... someone else decides to get cosy in our 'bed'!!

To all you 'real' couchsurfers out there ... enjoy the adventure. To all you parents who also have your own variation ... be encouraged, you're not alone and it won't last forever ... until the next time that is!!