A good old friend, whom I have not seen in a while, calls me:
‘Hi!! I loved the pictures you sent me!! The children are so beautiful and so big!!! And you?! You look the same! What have you done?! You’ve had botox! You did, didn’t you?! – and by the tone of her voice I knew she meant: Botox! ha-ha!
‘No! I’ve never had botox! I have no money for botox lol I have 3 kids, remember?! What I do have; is a good camera lol!
No way! I’ve refused epidurals and now you guys think I will go through this? Kiss my wrinkles! 😉 Injecao na testa nem de graca kkkk! To fora!
Truth is; I do have a crazy, hectic life with my 3 darlings. No small luxuries, like if we lived in Brazil (you know the ‘empregada’, manicure at your place, family support…). But, I have the life I chose to have. No one said: you must marry that guy, full stop! Or, You must have 3 children! Or, You must follow that Hungarian man around the world and eat paprika with all your dishes! Hahaha! Nope, I made those decisions all by myself. And now, in my 40’s, I completely realize it. Wakey wakey! Some people mature much much later…(this is not just a male privilege).
I am truly happy. Less weight on my shoulders… I’ve let go some of my die-hard thoughts, such as: ‘Shame on you! You are not a working person; you do not deserve to have any fun, especially on Fridays! lol
Seriously, it had been hard for me, at times, to enjoy my expat life. I started my career at age 15 (Yep, Volkswagen, Brazil) in a developing country. Around me, many worked ever so hard, many were sleeping in the streets, many were little children asking for money, at traffic lights, and many were very happy just to have ‘pao velho/stale bread’ given to them for their supper, at the end of their day. I constantly thought and still do of all these people, my people. Who did I think I was? Enjoying my life abroad, in safety and not even working?
These were some of the ‘things’ in my mind throughout these years, as a trailing wife. And, there was also the feeling that I was failing my mom, who brought us up (3 girls) to be very independent and happy.
But at this great awakening (ha ha) of mine, I thought: independent? Yes, I am. If I suddenly have no husband for whatever reason (!) I can fend for myself and for my children, thank you very much! Besides, I’m Wonder Woman! An Amazon, a fighter! lol. And happy? Well, look at me, mom! Feeling 22!
I’ve had my own business, worked in some cool jobs in different countries, and now I am with my children, going mental, advising my husband (Senior Business Advisor and Relationships Moderator, Me).But, look at the cool stuff I also do, for myself! Fearlessly! lol, I warn you; in order to do these things you cannot, possibly, take yourself too seriously 😉
It all started a couple of weeks ago. My toddler woke up determined to drive me ballistic, before 9am! That morning, I decided to take ballet classes (hold your laughs for the end!). At my daughter’s dance school, they offer Adult ballet – the owner had told me long ago, I was welcome to try the classes, and bring Mateus, too. I filled a little bag with puzzles, water, apple. Grabbed my little monster, and went to ballet. If I was gonna go insane that morning, some ballet dancers would go down with me! You see, I live abroad, have no one to share moments like this with. So, I found myself some lovely company. Yay!
If you think you can’t you won’t, if you think you can…You can!
Mateus was ever so quiet, sitting in a corner. And, I was wondering: what was he thinking? Seeing his mom dancing so very gracefully (not!). Anyway, It worked great! Besides the pirouette time…no major downfalls lol I thought I’d totally got the pirouette thing going when from the corner of my eyes, I saw the teacher rushing to the other end of the room with her arms stretched out like: I got you! I got you! Don’t’ worry! I got you! lol Man, I was ridiculously dizzy and aiming at the door! lol
Well, let’s just say ballet is not for me. But, it saved my morning! Take that Mateus! 😉 You threaten me again and I take you to…crochet!
Then, there was the episode of my teen wanting to enroll for volleyball and not doing it, at all, after I paid for a 6-week-course! Guess who is doing volleyball?! No, not my tween, she is the dancer, you throw her a ball and it just goes straight past her. She doesn’t even flinch. My husband!? No way! I won’t even comment here. Me!? Yes!!Me!! Loving it!
After a lot of Pilates I’ll even get to wear the little volleyball shorts!(kidding!)
To sum it up: My name is Adriana; married, 3 wonderful children. I play volleyball once a week, do Pilates Reformer twice a week, throw in some zumba times. My parts are all original not due to pride, but to fear! Fear of needles and knives lol. Besides, my husband loves antiques.
I believe in God and prayer, a lot of it! My knee shields are not just for volleyball!
I am living the life I’ve got, with no regrets. Expat women: try it out! Give yourselves a chance to be someone you could not really be in your own country 😉 It is fun!
Adri xxx
ps. Guys, today is Friday, you know everyone is happy on Fridays…just wait until I write on Monday!
Adri and her 3 