2nd Moscowversary!

Today marks yet another month living in Moscow...and while admittedly it's only the 2nd of many more, we feel like it's a big deal. With one more month comes more life lessons, more laughs and tears, more experience, more funny stories and just more!! I suppose you could say that the life we're currently involves a whole lot of more...which is true because we're gaining things we didn't even know there was to gain until we lived them.

In the true nature of Moscowversay, I feel a quick update is necessary.
Miss Jackie is currently doing well in her kindergarten, complete with lion masks and weird songs about birds. We see her less which means that we miss her a lot but makes suppertime chats a whole lot more eventful. We are working on our separation anxiety too. Miss Jackie has been rather sickly of late, but this taught us how to go to a pharmacy so I guess you could say this is a silver lining?
Miss Maree is the definition of "just keep swimming" by generally rocking at life and helping everyone else to rock when they forget how. She's recently picked up a client who is basically a Mini-Maree...obsessed with books at the age of eight and rather cute.
Miss Alison is just happy to have found a new client that has a dog and cat to pet so she no longer has to beg for one. She also learnt how to talk about herself in the third person for communication purposes on some occasions.

No one likes a Johnny Raincloud, but it must be mentioned that obviously not everything over here is always peaches and cream. We've had times when South Africa has felt very far away, which is difficult and sad. We've had to learn that growing up is not always the funnest part. We've had to accept that Mrs Ball's Chutney is probably a distant memory and that sometimes even when a label says "baking powder" in Russian according to your translator App, it's not. We worry about our families as much as they worry about us, we miss drinks at the Rat with fellow Rhodents while painting each other for any reason at all, we sometimes wish we could understand what the nice old lady says to us in a lift, every now and then a bear hug would do...but when those times happen, we have each other and we have a newfound strength within ourselves.

And if all else fails, there's always the amazing and wonderful Dr Seuss...

"And when you're alone, there's a very good chance

you'll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.

There are some, down the road between hither and yon,
that can scare you so much you won't want to go on.

But on you will go
though the weather be foul
On you will go
though your enemies prowl
On you will go
though the Hakken-Kraks howl
Onward up many
a frightening creek,
though your arms may get sore
and your sneakers may leak.

On and on you will hike
and I know you'll hike far
and face up to your problems
whatever they are. 

         
         You'll find the bright places

where Boom Bands are playing.

With banner flip-flapping,
once more you'll ride high!
Ready for anything under the sky.
Ready because you're that kind of a guy!"