The Application

Holy moly the process. Fingerprinting, medical checkups, proof of relationship. There could be an entire post on me documenting our relationship over 20+ years. But it’s been a fun trip down memory lane. Marriage, puppy adoptions, moves, births, big vacations… what are the milestones that mark your lives together? Joint utility bills? Pictures together in every tourist spot in Rome? Baby pictures? Selfies in different cities that look mostly the same with slightly different hairstyles and a few more smile lines?

I have a confession to make. I was really struggling with coming to grips with the fact that we’re really doing this. I mean, moving. To New Zealand. A whole new country. I won’t be able to get a job right away. The kids won’t have an ideal transition to school because of the differences in timing for the school year, but I’m honestly really not worried about that aspect. It’s the emotional part for me. Leaving my parents and sister and her family. I have a few local friends and I really hope they visit at some point, but I’m not the most social person. I don’t gather friends by the armfull. A few picked here and there. Cherished friendships that I know will stand the test of distance thanks to all the technology available to us now. But I met these friends through our kids. Our kids are older now, will it be the same? Will we meet other parents so easily? While I might not be a social butterfly, I need to have a few people to meet for a cocktail and talk. To share our dramas and laughs and heartaches. I don’t remember how to make friends. I think as I write I am realizing that I’m kind of fearful of this. Remember being the new kid? That’s hard. It sucks. No one wants to talk to the new kid. Oh no, another American moving to NZ to muck things up. Hey kiwis, I promise I won’t try to Americanize your wonderful country. You’re perfect as you are with your adventurous and kind people. Your mountains, rivers and beaches. Your amazing cultures and desserts. Yes, desserts deserve their own call-out, especially pavlovas and lamingtons. The Aussies try to take credit but I know it’s really you.

We haven’t told the kids. The application hasn’t been submitted yet but will be soon; we’re waiting on one more thing. After it’s submitted we’ll have a better handle on the timeline and then share it with the kids. We want them to have notice, but not so much notice that it causes unnecessary anxiety. It’s hard enough being 10 and 12.