We all know that mothers want to spend quality time with their kids on Mother’s Day. However, there’s something else that every mother craves deeply. It’s something that moms rarely ask for. Something that shouldn’t only be reserved for Mother’s Day.
My first year as a mother of two, was the hardest year of my life. It was the year that I didn’t recognize myself. The year that I felt like a shell of the person I “used to be”. The year that I suffered from postpartum depression.
The Christmas sun is setting here in La Punta, Puerto Escondido, Mexico.
I am relishing in the calm after the long-awaited, and highly planned-for celebration, that is Christmas.
Last night for Christmas Eve, we ate dinner at the incredible restaurant below our apartment. Loyal to my Italian roots, I enjoyed a mouth-watering seafood spaghetti. It made me feel closer to home, to my family.
The small, cozy space was filled with many people that we have met over these past two weeks. It was comforting to feel the energy of our newfound community.
Our family of four said Buenas Noches, and headed to bed at 10pm.
That’s when the locals began their celebrations.
We are quickly learning that there are no noise rules in Mexico. Literally, NONE.
Read MoreIt’s Saturday night in Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, Mexico.
The girls are asleep, Arjan is reading in the balcony hammock, and there is live local folk music playing in the distance.
Today we truly ARRIVED.
What a transition these first five days have been...
Read MoreHoly shit, guys.
The next time you hear from us, we will be in Mexico.
So, goodbye yellow brick road.
I can’t believe it’s really happening.
It seems like yesterday that I had my breakdown, the emotional catalyst that led to this grand family adventure.
We dreamed it up, all on our own, Arjan and I.
Our vision.
Our choices.
Our life.
Read MoreIn ten days, our family of four is moving from Toronto, Canada to Puerto Escondido, Mexico.
When people learn of our plans to take a four month family sabbatical, the common response is "Wow! You’re so lucky!".
The truth is, yes, we are lucky. But it was not luck that got us here, it was perseverance.
This sojourn did not come easily. It was not presented to us on a silver platter as a pre-planned vacation package.
We designed it.
We created a vision and problem-solved a way into making it happen.
As a couple, we asked ourselves tough questions about our life, got super real with each other, and took action.
Stepping into the unknown forces you to face your fears and get comfortable with discomfort.
Read MoreIn three weeks, our family of four is moving from Toronto, Canada to Puerto Escondido, Mexico.
We will be there for four glorious months, soaking up the sunshine and creating precious family memories.
Wait, let me re-phrase.
We will be parenting. 24/7. In Mexico.
Read MoreIt was the end of April.
I was slowly emerging from the blues that had plagued me since becoming a mother five years earlier. I felt like a shell of the fun, vibrant woman I used to be.
On that grey, wet, dull, day (April is still basically Winter), I had five, consecutive, kid-free hours, between drop-off and pick-up.
This meant that I would be running around all day doing errands, and would be exhausted by the time I picked up our kids, ages three and five.
The to-do list raced through my mind: we just ran out of toilet paper, our eldest needed new indoor shoes for school, dinner needed to go in the crock pot before noon, and today was the last day that I could return the lightbulbs (I had bought the wrong ones...again….ugh).
“Is this IT?” I remember thinking. THIS is what I hustled my way through my twenties and early thirties for?
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