One thing I can say though is that we are all fine, happy (relatively), healthy and immersed in winter here in Sweden. As we are rolling down to our last 18 months here in Stockholm I have started to reflect on my time here, and my role as a "trailing spouse." I guess my biggest question is; "am I doing this right?" What does it mean to be a trailing spouse in the 21st century? So many of us have dual careers, so going on a posting can possibly be detrimental to the career of the trailing spouse. There are those who I am sure get involved with the Diplomatic Communities where they are posted, specifically in those areas that are not very Western. Some of us just move and pick up our every day lives, even though those lives have changed and adjustments need to be made. I think we all also often feel like we are the only ones who feel they way we do.
My experience here has been really cool, and I have had an amazing opportunity to meet great people and live in a gorgeous city that just is dripping with history, but then why are there times I am bored? Why do I miss so many of my friends who are not here? With the creation of things like social networking and Skype it is easier than ever to stay in touch with people from all over the world, but at the same time you can feel lonely and isolated. I wish that there was more attention paid to the role of the trailing spouse in terms of what it is really like? I would love to see a class where trailing spouses come in and talk to those who are about to go on their first posting and share their experiences, as every experience is different and unique. Maybe this will be something I try to spearhead myself.
On to more interesting stuff; this year is our year to 'See Scandinavia." What I mean by that is we've lived here 2.5 years and the furthest I have been outside of Stockholm by car is to Uppsala so we have a lot to see. I think it's time to break out the travel guides we bought when we were moving here and see where to go next!
