The Story of Us

Yet to be defined, what this blog is to be...and does it really need a definition? Aren't we over glass ceilings and limitations? I think so. Which is definitely how Rach and I roll. Not much in the way of defintion, a whole lot in the way of shouting that 'all bets are off' and, therefore, anything will actually go. And it does. 

We met as fellow ex-pat teachers (though probably both hate that term) in a somewhat international school in Lima, Peru. I'd say a great love of literature, interpretive dance and just how freaking hot her partner is brought us together. Having babies (albeit she 'had' one and I 'got' one) at the same time cemented a love eternal and here we are. One pandemic down, except not, coz we're still in it, and we decided a blog was what we needed. Our lives are not the norm, not by a long stretch and definitively not in Lima but they have a thing in common: they are freakin' awesome. Also highly stressful, lonely at times, batshit crazy, boring, infuriating, exhausting, tumultuous and exhilirating. All of the things. Most of the time. Normal, they are not. And it's about bloody time someone started shouting about THAT. No? 

So, my story is that I'm 37, Scottish, a primary teacher and a single mum; I adopted my son 20 months ago, here in Peru. Read my own blog to hear that story. I left Scotland 11 years ago on a whim really (*READ: Broken Heart) and have lived in Italy, Thailand, Venezeula, England and then Peru. I've had a gazillion adventures, my heart smashed to smitherines, fallen in love with places, people and times that I'll treasure forever and ever. But I always, always knew I wanted to be a mum. Whatever I've been running round the world looking for or escaping from, that has never changed. Peru was the grown up decision I made. A great job, a stable place to live, the chance to actually do this. 

As a single mum, I've been given the ultimate baptism of fire. My son was 2 years 9 months when he came home and he has autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which I knew about and, in fact, chose him because of. Again, read my own blog for more of that. But it all adds up to people who don't really get you, coz you're a foreign, getting you even less, coz you're just SO WEIRD. As a single mum, you face an abominable amount of crap, especially in a very religious country, about where the dad is and how f'd up your child will be without another parent, etc, etc. Throw in a global pandemic and all that has done to us and we have a movie right here. Rach has her own story to tell and she'll do it with far more eloquence than I. 

We are fully committed to raising our children, within our village, in a non-traditional family, and knocking it out the freaking park. Here's to no bets ever being on, ever again.