The strength of the wolf is the pack

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, intelligent, passionate, creative and wonderful human beings. They believe in family and in conquering life together. Despite our constant nags for them to listen they have done just that and taken on what we’ve said. My husband always says “teamwork makes the dream work”. That’s something we’ve all quoted on occasion.

Its scary as hell - moving so far away from everyone you love. But the more we’ve spoken about it the more excited we’ve all become. We’ve looked up all the interesting animals we can find in Japan. This article on ‘15 animals you will only find in Japan’ is enlightening, although the killer hornets look scary!! I’m focusing on the Pikas and Ezo Momongas. And yes there are earthquakes and typhoons and all that but hey, France has been plagued by terrorists and the gilet jaune! Everywhere you go has threats but if you live life just focusing on those you’ll never step outside your front door.

In short I feel we’re doing ok. The extensive to-do lists have started to shrink and although everyone has had/still has the flu we’re making progress. Suitcases have been bought (see below the oh-so-cute one for our little one) and visa documents compiled, school places applied for and housing research started.