Days that I feel I am drawing

It wouldn’t be honest if I say the move and settling down is a smooth sailing process. It is manageable and even fun most of the time, but I do have challenging days, many of them. I know this is a temporary period as we adjust to new life, new people, new customs, new routines but I had days that I constantly feel forgetting, losing, failing to people and expectations, and behind on tasks. I’ll I I’ll iiiii

Girls after school activities are still not yet arranged. I just ordered a digital piano so they can start practicing and taking lessons again soon. Our shipment will take 2-3 months and renting a piano is not feasible so I decided to just get one. Hopefully it’s delivered this week. Kumon is still pending to find a center that has English teachers. I still haven’t found a swimming club for them despite asking everyone. Quite frustrating. They haven’t signed up for any club or school sports, just remember to ask for the schedule yesterday.

We still need to arrange regular schedule for maids to come to clean. The house is big. I don’t want my mom to do the cleaning and honestly husband lost “skills” after 8 years of being spoiled by having maids. Two new maids will come in the next 7 days, hopefully they are good enough to fill the gap. Physical clutter stresses me.

The car buying process is bumpy. I thought we got all the docs and approvals to go ahead with the purchase, just to learn from our office admin that it may not be the case. I’m frustrated, the seller even more frustrated as he’s an embassador and has planned the sell to be finalized before his final departure.

Every morning when I get up and come to downstairs, I find either Sofia or my mom sleeping in the couch. They are supposed to sleep together in a queen bed (which is what husband and I have) but it seems Sofia and grandma can’t co-sleep. It causes me stress knowing that one of them is not sleeping well. Yet, I don’t want to buy another bed when one extra bed for guest room is arriving in few weeks (our US storage unit shipment is scheduled to arrive in 10 days to Rio de Janeiro).

I feel falling behind most of the days at work. The number of meetings is still insane despite me not joining the critical ones. I still don’t have lunch break and need to finish responding to emails or connecting to meetings once I get home. At least I started to bring leftover dinners to eat while working. I also started to take Portuguese lessons which are useful, necessary, not too painful. Yet it takes 2-3 hrs a week minimum of class and review. In one of those nights, Sofia asked me why am I working at night when the whole point to come here is that I don’t need to take evening meetings. I feel bad to not spend much time with the girls other than dinner time, to listen to their adjustment challenges which I am sure they have. I hope this is temporary.

My mom’s limited mobility. Her knee and foot pain started before she came to Jakarta, and it has gotten worse to the extend that she can’t walk for more than 30 min now. This limits her activities level and what we can do with her without making her feel excluded, redundant. This physical deterioration makes me sad and stressed. Yet I don’t know what I can do to help her as she says it’s just old age. I am afraid she will want to go back to china sooner than we planned.

Limited English culture. I’m fortunate to be able to pass by most of the time with my Spanish and google translate. But the fact that husband doesn’t speak Spanish, most of the communication and arrangement with locals need to be done by me, like communicating with landlord agent, bills, delivery, scheduling, etc. I can’t delegate much and they add up to my busy working days.

I need to keep repeating: this is temporary!!! Soon everyone will get into a routine. Peace is imminent.