April Newsletter

​Welcome to the newsletter from Distance Families

DISTANCE FAMILIES NEWS

During March I had the pleasure of being interviewed by author and global mobility expert, Doreen Cumberford from Nomadic Diaries. This podcast series is of particular interest to soon-to-be-retired, or retired expats. My episode will go ‘live’ in a few weeks and I will highlight it in the next newsletter.

​I have read a couple of books lately that I particularly enjoyed mainly because they were both SO different.
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I bought Airplane Mode by Shahnaz Habib at Chicago Airport when my flight was weather delayed. It seemed an appropriate read on the occasion. It's unique.
​The crux of the narrative is “The color of one’s skin and passport have long dictated the conditions of travel”. It is that, and much more. You’ll never look at immigration queues in quite the same way.
A reviewer described this as a book of short stories. I loved that aspect. It was so easy to pick up and put down, without getting lost. The stories are insightful, eclectic and backed up by personal experience and savvy research. The bibliography makes for fascinating reading. I recommend this book to anyone who loves travel.

​Finally, just a reminder about the FIGT online Forum. Early bird registration closes 6 April. The virtual conference will take place over two 4-hour live sessions on 20 and 21 April 2024 during different time zones. This will be accompanied by a platform, on Kumospace, where participants can meet, mingle and chat in an informal manner. I really enjoyed this facility last time.  
Conference registration gives you access to all content for six months, even if you are unable to attend on the weekend.

Do Parents Matter? by R LeVine & S LeVine has been on my radar for a while.
Intergenerational, intercultural families are common in distance families. Even when all parties speak English different parenting styles can be present.
So I couldn’t resist the subtitle, Why Japanese Babies Sleep Soundly, Mexican Siblings Don’t Fight, and American Families Should Just Relax.
This book gave me a deeper understanding of why cultures and nationalities parent in different ways. What are the pros, and what are the cons? The book asks if the American approach, though I would say Western approach, is the best? The authors state that Western countries tend to see child-rearing as massively burdensome. Wouldn’t it be great if that wasn’t the case? Insightful, fascinating reading.


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BOOK SERIES NEWS

​During the COVID years I wrote the first two books of the Distance Families Book Series. Some would say that’s a pretty mad timeline. It didn’t seem so at the time. When you can’t go anywhere one can be quite productive.
Since then, the third and last book, Being a Distance Grandchild has been a work in progress on my desk. Much research has been done, many fascinating interviews have occurred and 60,000+ words are in a Word Document. But as any author will tell you – that’s just the beginning.
I had great intentions of publishing in 2024 but I am giving myself some grace and accepting it’s not going to happen this year… and that’s fine. When you throw into the mix a lot of travel, unexpectedly selling our house, moving into a new apartment and a couple of upcoming, never anticipated hip replacement operations some how, the original timeline was a tad ambitious. However, every time I open the file and reread the draft, I get excited about this untold story.

​Just a reminder if you’d like to go into the draw for a free paperback edition posted anywhere in the world just click here.

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ON THE HOME FRONT

March was a ‘red letter’ month as our 24 year old U.K. granddaughter took a three week break from her job and visited New Zealand... for the first time. Regular readers will remember our grandson, her brother, come last year.
We have made many visits to the U.K. and it has been wonderful to share our New Zealand and help her connect with her kiwi-ness. We’ve visited touristy sites and introduced her to a bunch of relatives she has never met before. She’s been a trooper and navigated it all so well. What’s extra special about having adult grandkids visit is that we do adult things together (no more theme parks) and later savour a nice bottle of red at the end of the day.

May sees us back to the U.S. for a few weeks visiting our Atlanta daughter and two grandsons, and Chicago son, daughter-in-law and grandson.  I have to confess our new addition in Chicago is the most gorgeous baby with the loveliest smile - but then I am probably a little bias. He's grown so much from the three week old we cradled last January.
Our daughter has moved from a condo to a house with a yard. We're looking forward to seeing all she has achieved and catching up with our grandsons who we haven't seen since Christmas 2022.
In between all that our house is still on the market. Lots of moving parts!

Take care until next time
Helen Ellis

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