What's Next?

This is a question our little family has been asking every year since we got married. Four countries and ten houses in ten years. Last year this question led us to Kenya and this year it has led to us staying in Kenya for another year.

We will be moving to Nanyuki which is the nearest town and K will commute into Mpala three days a week. The little house we have found is on the same street as the Police Commissioner, which I am told means that when we lose power, have potholes etc, it is not for long. The house is much smaller and darker than our incredible house at Mpala but has the bonus of constant electricity and (Hallelujah!!!) hot water in the taps. No more splishing and splashing in Emma's used two inches of slightly chilled bathwater. The house has a lovely garden and porch so we will still have an outdoors to enjoy and we always have the option of going into Mpala with Keir for a day to visit our dikdiks and hornbills.

Most excitingly we have found a little school for Emma to attend, it is the Braeburn Nanyuki. The school has a lovely campus, in the shadow of Mt. Kenya with ranch style individual classrooms organised around gardens of different kinds and plenty of outdoor space for the kids to play in. There is also a petting zoo complete with turkeys! She will go for four hours, three days a week and initially I will go with her. It is really more like a play group than formal schooling and they focus on helping the children with language and social skills.

Walking around the school and watching Emma watch the other children and realising that we will be separated from one another gave me a heart stopping feeling of sadness and excitement. She is going to have so much fun being around the other children and having stimulation other than that which I give her. It also signifies a change in our lives, one where K and I are no longer the most important people in her life. I now understand this feeling of time fleeting by you that I noticed all adults have but did not feel as a child. It is knowing how precious and notable every single second of your child's life is, and knowing you will not remember each one but that they will come and go so quickly and never again be found.