Welcome to a new year! For some, a new year brings on a feeling of a fresh beginning. It seems like a natural time to make some changes. We tend to marvel over the passage of time, reflect on the events of the past year and often resolve to be become better versions of ourselves.
Usually I ignore those time honored traditions. I don't put much stock in New Year's Resolutions. I figure anytime is good to make positive changes. But this past year wasn't an average year by most people's standards (I will leave politics out of this). One of the unusual occurrences were the numerous influential celebrities that passed. Social media was filled with emotional comments relating to those. Michael commented, "I wonder how many Syrians died?" A sucker punch of perspective. It is interesting how we choose to focus our attention and how we react. All of the devastating world news should cause us to focus on the good things in our lives and make positive changes. Hopefully, reflecting on the past helps us make those changes.
Moving On
The 2016 holidays are behind us. Thanks to Facebook and Instagram we have been able to see how friends and family celebrated and we can keep in touch. They serve as a nice place to post quick highlights of a trip or special moments.
I try to keep others updated via our blog or sometimes Facebook, but I seem to have an issue with consistency. I preach about consistency when teaching or parenting, but when it comes to practice in terms of posting updates, I seem to have a problem. One of my goals this new year is to get our blog updated. Hopefully, publicly proclaiming my actions will keep me more accountable (plus it is a new semester and I am only teaching one class....how convenient.)
Our Update
Two years ago, I wrote a blog post about how making changes involves taking risks. It was easier to write about all of our changes while we were in the thick of it at a house sit in rural France. At that point, we had no idea where we would land after our year of travel. Nine months later we found ourselves in Newfoundland, Canada close to Michael's family. We have been here almost 18 months and have accomplished quite a bit.
So now I have a platform and an excuse to write about my family's year in review. Let's start with the kids.
Maeve: Maeve settled into middle school. It wasn't her favorite place to be, but her kind personality won over the teachers. Since our travels revealed her undeniable talent for photography beyond her years, we felt she needed a professional camera. Over the year, Maeve honed her skills with help from a local photographer. I am looking forward to posting some of her pictures from Scotland last summer. Maeve enjoyed her visit to Chicago over the summer. She caught up with some friends and saw her first concert (Demi Lovato). Maeve is now in grade 9. That is still middle school in Newfoundland. She has made more friends and has grown up a great deal. She is as tall as me and has traded in her glasses for contacts. She is quite the beauty.
Liam: While wrapping up elementary school (grade 6 here) and winning the school's top academic award, Liam's teacher recommended we consider having him tested. She felt he was quite bright. Liam qualified for advanced programming for grade 7. He has started a new school and is doing well despite his rather regular critiques of, well, pretty much everything. Liam has taken up percussion in the band and is experiencing a good deal of success with that. He has a good friend and enjoys gaming. Even though he has a strong passion for video games, Liam does enjoy the outdoors. Over the summer, he went hiking and fishing in central Newfoundland with Michael and a friend. On decent weather days, he stays after school to play football. He enjoyed zip-lining and snowmobiling over winter break.
Michael: Michael is working for the Government of Canada. He enjoys being able to head out on occasional weekend hikes with his childhood friend who is back in the province as well. Michael is also thrilled to be able to visit his parents frequently. Our downtown location provides us ample opportunities for date nights where we can just walk down the hill for a great meal.
Kristin: The past year has been pretty interesting for me. I am the only family member without Canadian citizenship. It took several months, but Michael and I finally got my application for Permanent Residency submitted at the beginning of last year. Part of that process included applying for a work permit. Four moths later, I received my permit. I then entered into an arduous exchange with the department of education here in trying to obtain a Newfoundland teaching certificate. Just as the school year ended, I received a certificate, albeit not one that is commensurate with my education and experience.
So substitute teaching was not an option for work at that point. Earlier in the year I had become reacquainted with someone I worked with 20 years ago at Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN). He said there would be opportunities for me to work there in the Fall. Just before we left for Scotland in July, I had secured a teaching contract at MUN for the Fall. So with Scotland and a Chicago trip under our belts, I began teaching again. I spent every free hour reading the new texts, planning lectures, writing tests and grading. I also applied to substitute teach with the school board here. I began subbing at Liam's school. It was an intense term.
Now that is all behind me and I have one class for the winter term. I am hoping to substitute teach more this year and secure more university courses.
We wrapped up the year with a drive across the island to Corner Brook. We enjoyed a total winter wonderland where we went zip lining and snowmobiling. A condo with a fireplace was a great setting for a six hour cutthroat game of Monopoly. It was another great family trip.
That is the Collins family update. Stay tuned for more updates and travel accounts on our blog. We wish you all a very happy, healthy and peaceful 2017!
Phenomenal winter zip lining experience. One guide upside down on a line in the background.
A break in snowmobiling for a pic with quite the view!