7 weeks

We have been in America almost 7 weeks. Can I say that we are still adjusting?

Well, we are. But in much better ways today than we were 5 weeks ago. Or even 3 weeks ago. Team Williams is getting into the swing of life- American Style. And it is good.

For example....

-the weather is awesome. And we have a pool (parents have a pool). so we are swimming every. single. day. and I LOVE it. E loves it too, which is what really matters.

-Chick-fil-a is amazing and i have no idea how i survived 4 whole years without it. I can never be apart from it again. ever.

-It is really nice (and convenient) to have wal-mart and target everywhere you turn. So many options, so many choices and at such an affordable price. I know there are people out there who will fight me on every turn about the evil-ness that is wal-mart but people, I am loving it.

-did i mention the pool?

-And it goes without saying that the best thing about America is being with my family. I have missed out on so much. And I have just missed them. There are downfalls to living with parents, but it is wonderful to be able to see them every day and for ele to have her mimi and papa around.

But it is also hard. Still hard. And still harder than I thought. For example....

-It is really hard when people questions why it is hard for me. I get the 'but you are american so it is really that difficult?' and the 'was it really so different over there?' Yes. Yes it was different and yes it is difficult. The only place I was ever a wife and mother until 2 months ago was the UK. Things are different over there. Products, produce, perspective- life in general is different. and sometimes it is still a difficult transition. I loved (and still love) so many things about European culture that it is difficult to let some of them go. Which brings me nicely to point 2.

-The need for a car. I loved walking. I mean really loved it. Like would happily live the rest of my life with public transportation and my own two feet kind of love. Walking and taking a bus? Not so much an option in good ole' Oklahoma. and I hate that. I miss the sidewalks. and the tubes. I miss fighting with hundreds of angry tube riders to push my stroller up and down the escalators to get on the tube amid the rush of commuters. Can I really miss that?! Well, I do.

-I miss Camden Town. The cheap food stalls selling Chinese food on the side of the road. The crazy hippies selling, well, crap out of falling down market stalls. I miss the tattoos parlors that lined the street and the unimaginable amount of goths and drunks wandering up and down the road. I miss camden!

-I want to be able to walk out my front door and get on a train that in 10 short minutes will put me in Trafalgar Square. I want to play with E in the fountains outside the national museum and then have a picnic on the grounds right by Westminster Abbey. Or maybe a snack on the banks of the Thames while a shadow is cast over us by Big Ben. I want to be able to take ele to the Imperial War Museum. Sure she has been several times before, but come on, can you really go too many times? I think not!

-I miss Red Sky crisps and chip shops and squash the drink and hearing 2 rings when I called someone of the phone. I miss the variety of accents, I miss the BBC ad Radio 1. I miss the crazy music with people singing in British accents. I miss the pub culture and surprisingly I even missed the big end of the football season relegation battle. I still miss a lot of the UK.

-Just as with America, it goes without saying that the things I miss the most are the people. I miss the Wales Williams. And kath and neil and nia. I miss my baby girls and the Fullers boys and girls. I miss London Stacey.

It is funny writing that out because I had a post very similar to this but in reverse when I first moved to the UK. All the things I missed about America. Believe me, that list was massive. Funny how it switches.

I love America. I love being from America. I say it jokingly all the time, but it's true- we are the best :) But I am missing the UK a lot this week. Reflecting on my transition to the UK, it is a good sign to be writing this out because in kristina world it means that I am adjusting, moving on and letting go. There will be even more awesome things about living here than I can think of at the moment. I know it will be great. Team Williams will make Tulsa our new home (for the moment at least) and we will thrive.

But today, nearly 7 weeks into America, I am missing the UK. So there it is. How we have settled into the transition. Easier now than 7 weeks ago, but still a bit of a struggle. Thank goodness for Chick-fil-a, but man I miss Europe!