Things are getting on pretty good for my family and myself here in southern Nevada. We have been here for six weeks now, and we have got a good start to settling in. It has not all gone perfect or to plan, but getting up in the morning and watching the shadow of night creep across the desert floor to the edges of our lives feels so much bigger than even the view from the window in England ever did. Rather than overlooking a valley, we are on the floor, and the hills to the East of us cast a long shadow which moves quickly as it passes over us. I am sure there is an analogy in that somewhere!
Settling into our rooms was a chore in its own right, but trimming the trees and redistributing blown sand and preparing for my pet project here turns out to be an even bigger chore than I had ever imagined it to be! We do after all want the place to look good whenever someone drives up, especially for and of the business ventures we are setting off with!
Moving in with my grandparents to help them out has been challenging in many ways, but is still very rewarding! There are plenty of things to help them sort out so they don’t spiral into oblivion, and there are so many things they have done and are doing to help us out on our settling in to America..!!
The kids are all still walking around in a bit of a daze of amazement! All of them are overwhelmed with the scale of things here compared to where they grew up. Jordan last night spent an evening with his scout troop watching a movie and playing some games at the house of a genuine millionaire family close by. I said to him that if I seem a little less phased by it all, it is just because it is a lot easier here for someone to see how the other half lives, and that I have also been in my share of mansions.
Kiry is doing splendidly with so much house to run around, and so much more yard to play in! She loves being outside and even on her worst days, she has come out to help me with my work in the yard and she has been fine. She is definitely an outdoor sort of girl!
Dylan is having the most interesting time of all because not only has he been stunned by the sheer scale of everything, but he has also been out shooting rifles and shotguns with the scouts, and he has also been in school. School has been probably the greatest challenge yet of his life because he has got a very difficult math class with an equally difficult math teacher! He gets detention if he does not have his homework complete, and what’s more, he has an after school Drama club on Monday’s that is held at the same time as detention. (Nice on on the school’s part for that!) Dylan has got the love of his social circle and of the girls at school to keep him interested, and of being the unique one in his classes, and the work to keep him more than challenged. To boot, he complains about the things we do at home because he is not a part of it, which he has obviously just got to grow up about!
Katrina is doing some work on ELance, so there is some money coming in now, even if it is only a little to start off with. The important thing is that she is working at last to build up her profile and maybe improve her odds of landing future work for herself on the site. It could be potentially a great way for her to go if she can keep working for herself rather than flogging her guts for “the man!” If she can win some more bids, I think I shall see her smiling from ear to ear!
Well, enough for now as I am off to work on the The Prospering Peasant!