Franglo

I am sitting on the train to Toronto for a much-needed weekend of rest and relaxation with my girls. I have a glass of wine and a bag of sweet potato chips. What more could a girl want? It has been awhile since my last post, in my defence has life had a lot of change.

I had the opportunity to entertain my parents  from BC in September. For the first time they meet the kids and my in-laws. I was able to change their perception of Quebec and I think they had a great time with us. We tried to show them the best of Quebec, the food, the culture and the natural beauty. Quebec and British Columbia are more similarities than you would expect.

Since my last post, the company I work for when through a significant restructuring exercise that lasted throughout the summer. This actually worked out in my favour, as I am now based in Quebec full time. I was able to release my apartment in Ottawa at the end of August.

If you have ever been through one of these exercises you know it can be stressful as you are not sure you will come out the other side gainfully employed. I was lucky with all the team departures, I was given a chance to prove myself within the organization which  enabled me to take on the responsibility for a much larger region. When the reorg was done we were finally able to backfill all the positions that I had been covering for the better part of the year.

I am in a position where I need to prove myself again to my local team; I still go to our Ottawa office one day a week; aka 12-hour day when you factor in the 4 hours of commuting.

This new role makes the need to french language skills even more significant. My original plan had me taking a break from school until the New Year because I am exhausted after more than eight months of six day a week of commitments. I altered that plan and started attending school on Tuesday and Thursday evenings to continue my education. The best part  my weekends are now free.

It’s almost November and I am two weeks away from finishing another level of school. Still exhausted and I will take time off for real this time to allow time to absorb the content that I have stuffed into my brain for the last ten months. Fingers crossed that I pass this level.

We are getting used to living together again, in a capacity where both of us are commenting into the city for work. It was easier when I was working from home, now we have to balance workloads with domestic loads. I attend school 2 nights a week and work late at least one night a week communing to Ottawa or attending a local event.

Recently, I also had to mourn the loss of one of my colleagues who took an amazing opportunity at another company. She was my mentor, my cheerleader and made going to work fun. It’s year another adjustment on a crazy year of change. Is 2019 over yet?

I am taking a weekend to run away from the family responsibility, every now and the Anglo needs a reset. I love the kids, but I find myself mentally and physically exhausted after our weekends. Following conversation is still difficult for me; children do not speak in themes. This week in school,  we are learning about identity fraud in class, however I cannot turn that into dinner conversation. I can only imagine the teen-tween eye roll if I attempted that.

I am looking forward to a reset weekend, where I get to rediscover myself and reconnect with my old life. I am fortunate that I have friends, which are more like family who are more than willing to host me for a weekend.