It’s been three months since we left Australia. Some days it feels like only yesterday that we got on that plane, but then there are other days where our Aussie life feels like a lifetime ago.

Not only did we leave the ‘land of plenty’ on that sunny day in October, but also many wonderful friends, our Aussie family, our pretty little house, my business and the only life we’ve known for a very long time. Oh…and sunshine, we definitely left the sunshine behind!

I couldn’t be prouder of how Patrick has adjusted to life in the Northern hemisphere. Today I watched him run around a football pitch (in the pouring down rain I might add), playing his little heart out with a bunch of boys he now calls his team mates, feeling very much accepted and loving his new role as defender. I too am secretly enjoying my new found Sunday morning vocation, shouting and cheering from the sidelines (a little too enthusiastically at times I think, from the strange sideways glances I get from the very ‘passionate’ football dads).

As I stand there watching my little boy run up and down the pitch chasing anything that moves, I find myself being very much the proud football mum. (I think however that I could be much more content standing in something other than umbrella destroying conditions or below zero degree temperatures in sleet and snow).

As well as loving all things football, Patrick has settled really well into his lovely new school, made some great friends, loves maths and PE and is, for the most part, the happy, smiling cheeky little boy he has always been.

In quiet, reflective moments like this, I breathe quite a large sigh of relief when I think what the transition to a life on the other side of the world might have looked like for my sweet, sensitive seven year old boy if he hadn’t adjusted quite so well and longed to be back ‘home’. In these moments I realise just how lucky I am and what a wonderful little boy I have.

My own transition to British life has been a mixed bag of highs and a few lows. I have loved setting up our house and making it a home. Christmas was wonderful and very nearly a white one; and I’ve loved spending time with my family and friends without a time frame and a return flight hanging over our heads. I’ve especially enjoyed being able to spend time with Sarah, my sister. Last night we danced around her dining room giggling and laughing like teenagers, something we’ve not done for such a long time. I didn’t realise just how much I have missed these kind of moments over the years living so very far away.

I’m slowly starting to make some new friends, although being a 41 year old, almost tea-total, single mum tends to make having an active social life a little tricky. I have been offered lessons in drinking by quite a few people now, who seem completely baffled at my lack of alcoholic drinking behaviour, and I’m giving their offers some serious consideration.

I’m learning to work from home; although I still struggle with the distraction of chocolate and the desire to leave the house and go shopping. But with the Aussie dollar not stretching anywhere near as far when it’s converted to the British pound, I’ve had to curb my spending habits somewhat!! So instead, I’ve have built a website for my book, started writing business plans for a UK based gym, joined a gym (and I’ve actually been going), applied for a couple of ‘proper’ jobs (although I do struggle with the thought of working for someone other than myself) and I’ve found myself some daytime waitressing work which actually helps massively with all of the above. I am confident that exciting things are ahead for me career wise, I just need to find a little patience along the way!

But January in the UK can be tough even for those who are used to it. Add in the aftermath of the Christmas and New Year festivities, cold and grey days where it’s dark at 4pm and I think I can be forgiven for wanting to hop on the next plane headed south in my slightly weaker moments!!

When you’re used to basking in sun at the mere sight of it, and where you love nothing more than soaking up vitamin D like it’s going out of fashion, and wearing shorts and t-shirt is standard attire for three out of four seasons, the cold British winter can be really challenging when you’re trying to be positive and adjust to a new life on the other side of the world.

Combine the Ugg boot and thermal undies wearing weather with also finding yourself being a full time mum and having to think of culinary delights that your child won’t turn his nose up at, when being in the kitchen is like a fish being out of water, flapping around on the floor, gasping for air, and even I’m surprised that I haven’t packed up and jumped on a plane back to Oz on more than one occasion in the last three months!

But probably the hardest part has been watching my amazing Flyaway team run my business as if it were their own, exactly as you knew they would; feeling so very very proud of all they are doing but missing every one of them tremendously and feeling a little superfluous to what has been my ‘life’ for such a long time. Above all though I am truly grateful to be able to have done what I have, and I know that they will continue to make me proud, always.

And I do miss them! So very much and also my many other friends (and gymnasts) that I think so fondly and so often of. But Spring is coming and Patrick and I have many exciting adventures to go on and our journey here in the UK has only just started. The saying is true ‘you can’t move forward if you’re always looking back’, so I’m raising a glass (of something a little stronger than water) to the coming of Spring, wonderful memories, pretty daffodils, friends (old and new, near and far), exciting times, drinking and dancing and making the most of every moment. 💕

Twenty seven! That’s the number of inspirational quotes that appear on ornaments, pictures, fridge magnets, pillows, coasters and signs dotted around my house. Not at all excessive (hmmmm?!)

My love of all things inspirational began when I was a young girl and my mum bought me a beautiful book full of quotes and poems. Before long I knew them all by heart, but little did I know at twelve years old just how much that little book would help shape my life.

These days I draw my inspiration from lots of different places depending on what mood I’m in, or what I hope to achieve. It might be one of those 27 quotes, where the words play on repeat in my head, reminding me to ‘trust the journey!’ when all I really want is a crystal ball to tell me how it all works out in the end. It might be Christina Aguilera belting out ‘Fighter’, helping get me through another gruelling and very boring treadmill run; or it could be the ultimate mix of 80’s love ballads or a country collection to keep me awake on a long, late night drive home from competition.

And when I find myself complaining that I don’t feel like going to the gym or that I’m too tired to run, I draw inspiration from friends who I know would love to be able to do either, but due to injury or illness cannot. And instead of feeling beaten before I begin, I suddenly find myself grateful that I can.

More often than not however, it will be ‘Pink’ who, without exception, has the capacity to change my whole mood around with a single lyric. Who knew?!

I find joy in small things, such as snow falling on a winters day, the sun shining through my skylight, the familiar ding of a message arriving from someone special, or my sons hand in mine as he falls asleep, all which can be guaranteed to make my heart truly smile. As small or insignificant as all of these things may seem, or be to someone else, they matter to me and I am grateful for each of them for the role they play in inspiring me to be a better person.

As much as I love to be inspired, I get great enjoyment out of being able to inspire others; to help people believe in themselves and support them in pursuit of their dreams by giving them the confidence to at least try. I especially enjoy inspiring children. I started coaching at a young age and while I still love to teach, these days my ‘why’ has become much more than helping a child achieve a gymnastics skill. To watch a child thrive, grow, take a chance or ‘have a go’ under my guidance is something which feels nothing short of amazing and fills me with pride every time.

People often tell me that I inspire them with the things I do, and while I’m touched by their words, I’m never quite sure how to respond. But then I think about the people who inspire me and I wonder what they might say if I told them the same thing. I hope they would feel pleased, knowing that they have made a difference in my life, even if only in a small way.

In the end I suppose, we are all just doing our own thing to get by in this life, each of us on our own journey. And we do that in a way that makes sense to us and which helps us achieve our own set of goals and dreams. No doubt it will be different to the next person, and at times each of us will inspire someone else by the things we are doing, and maybe the best thing we can do is simply say thank you, smile and just keep on doing it.

So on the days where we may feel defeated, or where any and all inspiration seems to have evaded us, regardless of the number of quotes we surround ourselves with or how many times we play our favourite song, we should always remember to smile; because while we may not feel at our very best, we might still be someone else’s inspiration, and our smile might just be the thing that brightens their day. 💕