Cranky in Coffs Harbour
Well I am feeling cranky - certainly a bit saddened. It's Ella's birthday tomorrow and a huge Thank you! to you for sending Ella presents. She obviously hasn't had them yet, but it's great to know that you're thinking of her. I wish I could say the same about some of the people here.
We don't know many people yet, but at the end of the pre-school term, just before Christmas, we invited the two couples we do know through the pre-school plus some children Ella identified as friends to a party tomorrow afternoon. As is the way, few people RSVPed, but I met and was friendly with a woman whose daughter has been at the two-week swimming course Ella has been attending, so I invited her daughter along as well, and she accepted. It turns out her husband works with the another couple we'd invited, who'd said they would be coming to the party with their children and also with their niece. So far, so good.
Then at the beginning of the week the woman from swimming announced that she would be working tomorrow so her daughter couldn't come to Ella's party. I was saddened, then, to phone our other friends, her employers, today to confirm the time, only to find out that they'd decided to hold a birthday party tomorrow afternoon for their son who turned 2 last week, and that this woman was helping them to organise it. I wouldn't have minded so much if someone had told me... a bit of honesty would have gone a long way.
When you don't know people very well and you have few friends where you are, you are walking a tightrope already in that you want to be sociable and meet people, but you have to be sensitive to the fact that they already have a social circle and that you can't muscle in on things; you have to take it slowly. What makes me sad is how it feels for Ella. She loves being here; she loves walking Toby by the ocean and being in the sunshine, and she's looking forward to school. But she's spent more than 3 months with very few people of her own age for company and she would have loved having friends over tomorrow to play with her on her birthday. We will no doubt have a nice day, and perhaps someone who hasn't RSVPed will turn up unannounced and we'll have a party after all, but Ella misses her family andfriends in the UK so much and I think she's going to be a little bit lonely tomorrow and it breaks my heart.
We don't know many people yet, but at the end of the pre-school term, just before Christmas, we invited the two couples we do know through the pre-school plus some children Ella identified as friends to a party tomorrow afternoon. As is the way, few people RSVPed, but I met and was friendly with a woman whose daughter has been at the two-week swimming course Ella has been attending, so I invited her daughter along as well, and she accepted. It turns out her husband works with the another couple we'd invited, who'd said they would be coming to the party with their children and also with their niece. So far, so good.
Then at the beginning of the week the woman from swimming announced that she would be working tomorrow so her daughter couldn't come to Ella's party. I was saddened, then, to phone our other friends, her employers, today to confirm the time, only to find out that they'd decided to hold a birthday party tomorrow afternoon for their son who turned 2 last week, and that this woman was helping them to organise it. I wouldn't have minded so much if someone had told me... a bit of honesty would have gone a long way.
When you don't know people very well and you have few friends where you are, you are walking a tightrope already in that you want to be sociable and meet people, but you have to be sensitive to the fact that they already have a social circle and that you can't muscle in on things; you have to take it slowly. What makes me sad is how it feels for Ella. She loves being here; she loves walking Toby by the ocean and being in the sunshine, and she's looking forward to school. But she's spent more than 3 months with very few people of her own age for company and she would have loved having friends over tomorrow to play with her on her birthday. We will no doubt have a nice day, and perhaps someone who hasn't RSVPed will turn up unannounced and we'll have a party after all, but Ella misses her family andfriends in the UK so much and I think she's going to be a little bit lonely tomorrow and it breaks my heart.
posted by Sara Bowen at 5:54 am
2 Comments:
This is a message for Ella - Megan and Hannah (Mark and Michelle) would like to wish you a very Happy 5th Birthday. We all hope you'll have a very special day. With lots of Love xxx
Happy Birthday Ella lots of love Ali,Stu Max and Poppy xxx
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