My gorgeous friend Kate and her fiancé Ryan are getting married this Saturday and I can't be there. That is definitely the worst part about living abroad. We also missed my cousin Ashley's wedding because we were here and it was there. Living abroad is fun, and an adventure, but it comes at a cost. It's hard to miss out on things because of the incredible distance and cost of going back and forth.
I also hate that, being nine hours ahead, it's almost never a good time to talk on the phone to anyone back home. :(
You can see all of Kate and Ryan's gorgeous engagement photos by Lech Naumovich here.
Thanks for the kind words, Linds. We will definitely miss you this weekend. One of these days we will make it over for a visit.
ReplyDeleteFor the most part I find living abroad a great adventure and such a wonderful opportunity for my kids but there definitely are times when it gets hard.
ReplyDeleteMissing out on happy events back home like weddings and new babies is definitely hard. It's great seeing all the photos on facebook etc but it would be so much nicer to be there in person. In the almost two years that I've lived in America (from Australia) I've missed out on weddings, friends and cousins having babies and I even have a 1.5 year old nephew that I've never met. That is definitely a surreal feeling. My best friend back home is pregnant with her first baby (after a long struggle) and I'd love to be there supporting her but unfortunately skype and facebook just have to do. The time differences definitely don't help though.
The hardest thing that I've found about living so far away from friends and family is not having them around when things go bad. Back in June my Grandmother died and I couldn't be there to say goodbye with the rest of my family. That was hard. Then just two weeks later I lost my baby 24 weeks into my pregnancy and I discovered just how hard being so far away from your loved ones really can be.
But despite the hard times that come with living abroad I wouldn't miss this wonderful opportunity for the world. Everyday things can be an adventure and the chance to travel and live in a different culture (or not so different for us!) is such a great learning opportunity for our kids. And when friends and family do come to visit (and when we one day manage to head home for a visit) the time with them is just so much more special.