Frank and Josie's House

Watching the remake of the Jungle Book is quite an awe-inspiring event. Towards the end my eldest said (as the mother-wolf Raksha charges the massive tiger Shere Khan to protect Mowgli) “the mummy wolf is protecting her cub”. My instant thought was “I’m trying, my darling, I’m trying.” So much trust. Our children trust us, sure they question us and so they should but ultimately they trust us. Even though we’re moving country again, even though we’re taking them away from their new-found friends and hobbies in France, even though we’re moving further away from our family and to a place that seems so completely alien to all of us. Despite all this they trust us. I wholeheartedly love them for that. “The strength of the wolf is the pack.” (Copyright  cloudtail the snow leopard ) And as the tears roll down my cheeks at the emotional end of the Jungle Book they hand me a tissue saying “oh mummy, we love you.”  And I know I’m doing alright. They are caring, compassionate, daring, questioning

It’s official, I can say it now: we’re moving to Japan! Aaaaaaaarrrrrgggghhhhh. I thought moving from the U.K. to France was a challenge but being 500 miles away from friends and family wasn’t difficult enough so we’re going further afield. (Now is that sarcasm or the wine talking?) As I said on my recent  Instagram post  “Holy sushi rolls, Batman!” We’re all feeling a little bit overwhelmed and crazy right now. We are definitely a house full of crazy, tears, worries, research, questions and many comments of “what the *#~¥ are we doing?!” The picture above is actually me when I’d practised some yoga and was feeling a little calmer. This is the hubby and I before: Actually we’re really excited. I in particular have always wanted to go to Japan. I’ve read many books about geisha and their role in Japanese society. I know it’s not everything but it drew me in and I want to learn more. Kyoto is definitely on my list of places to visit. Although we’ve already decided that the hubby will be