Several months ago my husband and I were having flights of fancy about our lives. He was feeling pressure at work and I was feeling the effects of months of being tied to a new baby and not getting out much. We talked about how great would it be to work overseas, let the kids learn a new culture, inject some newness into our marriage and family life!
Fast forward a couple of months. I heard on the radio in the morning after my husband had gone to work that there were reportedly people being retrenched from his employer. I was a little alarmed, but as I hadn't heard from him, and it's a very large company, I was not too concerned.
And then I found out by accident, from a person I hardly knew, that my husband had lost his job.
"So," said my unwitting informer, alarm on his face, "how are you guys going to cope now that he's lost his job???"
Double take. Quick mental processing. Maintain calm expression, suppress internal rising panic.
"Oh yeah, it's okay, something will come up." Think quickly. "We'll be okay." What I hoped would pass for a look of stoicism on my face was surely being betrayed by a frozen demi-smile highlighted by an alarming amount of white showing in my eyes, and the blood draining from my face. Nice try.
I ran outside to call my husband and ask what was going on. Hours later, once he could escape the chaos at his workplace, he called to confirm the grim news.
So ended our old lives, and our new lives begin to take shape.
From early next year, we will be uprooting our family and moving to Kone, New Caledonia, for at least six months, where our fantasy life becomes real. So begins packing up a household, learning French, cramming in medical appointments and visa applications, interspersed with attacks of doubt and anxiety.
So...it's going to be an interesting tale. Take a seat and enjoy the next chapter in the life of Miss Floss!
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