Not-so-fun transition moments

A couple of days ago I wrote about some of the funny and positive things happening around this transition to Australia. Today I'm going to touch on some negatives. Transition makes you tired, not just the plane trip, but all the adjustments too. Nothing is 'normal'. Just like when you start a new job you are exhausted after the first day. Same for us now. Small things are making us tired and the boys too. Looking after them during this time is very wearying. They are more whingy and impatient than usual. They have many questions and as I mentioned in a previous post, our eldest son particularly, is very persistent and detailed in his questioning. We've been expected to be experts in sausage making and sugar cane growing and processing, to name a couple that have cropped up in the last two days. They're also very perceptive and know that at this time of stress, they will likely be able to get away with more, so apply lots of pressure. They need us to be consistent, but resist us more strongly than usual. That makes for challenging parenting. We are trying to simultaneously rest, look after boys (always a hard combination), see some things in this special part of Australia, plan for our long drive on Thursday (about 900km), wait for news about a house in Brisbane and generally long to settle down again. It is a lot. We were tired already before we left Japan. We feel crazy at times. This afternoon I struggled with a very foggy, achy head. I'm headed to bed early tonight. Tomorrow we're headed out to see the Great Barrier Reef and Green Island. I just hope the boys have a better day. A day when they are more thankful, more willing to obey, less grumpy and more responsive. I, for one, am thankful we're going through this part of our transition to Australia without living with other people. That might seem a strange thought, but at least with the limited resources we have, our attention is not divided. We can focus as best we can on helping the boys. I say this because I know what the alternative is like and it is even worse. After Thursday we have a week of visiting with family, I hope and pray that we'll be a little more rested and the boys will be easier to manage!