March Newsletter

Welcome to the monthly newsletter from DistanceFamilies.com

To readers with connections in Ukraine my heart goes out to you. It is so hard to get our heads around what is happening there. I found comfort in a post by author and expat, Mariam Navaid Ottimofiore who wrote 'The Messy Mobile Life'. As another European based friend said, "The mood is heavy here in Europe. The pandemic is feeling like a distant memory."

Back home Omicron has well and truly made itself at home in New Zealand. Our infection numbers have gone through the roof and RAT test kits are finally in the shops. After an endless wait the government has decided to allow expat kiwis and their families from anywhere to enter NZ with no strings attached. Gone is managed hotel isolation - gone is home isolation - 'Fortress New Zealand', as we've been known by, is no longer. Needless to say every kiwi Distance Family is elated.

DISTANCE FAMILIES NEWS

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Come the U.K. Mother's Day weekend I will be presenting at the Families in Global Transition virtual conference. 
​The “we” of ‘Where do we go from here?’ incorporates more than just our FIGT2022 conference attendees. Behind every participant are ‘left behind’ families at ‘home’, contributing to a larger narrative of, ‘Where does Distance Familying go from here?’ All generations, everywhere, are affected. Our familying ‘head space’ will never return to pre-COVID-19 times.
I will be presenting an informal Kitchen Table discussion at: Fri 25 March UTC 05.20 & 15.10hrs.

DISTANCE FAMILYING HINT
If you live in the U.K. and your mother lives somewhere else in the world it's still time to go shopping for a Mother's Day card. Buy one now, before the 27th, after which cards will disappear from the shops. Put it aside and post it in plenty of time for Mother's Day where your mother lives. Check out this link for global Mother's Day dates. Down the track, when Mother's Day is plastered everywhere at home she'll be SO impressed you remembered.

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BOOK SERIES NEWS

Some time back I was shortlisted for Australasia's 'The Employee Mobility Institute' (TEMI) Awards  under the category of 'Best Mobile Workforce Wellbeing Initiative'.
The ritzy event was held in Melbourne, Australia this month and as per normal, in this part of the world, it was impossible to attend. Three Australian interstate finalists were also in the same position.
So the fantastic organizers arranged for each of us to be represented by a mobile robot standing around a meter with an iPad atop. It moved about the venue via instructions from an onsite minder and/or myself.
My robot had my name on it and was adorned with a large black boa feather to represent NZ's All Black's theme colour. I was able to chat with attendees, mix n mingle and 'sit' at a table when they ate their meal.
When the awards were announced I was honoured to be chosen for my category. My robot made its way onto the stage. A microphone was put to it (see photo!) and I delivered my speech from across the Tasman. What a blast of an evening.
It was terrific to see Distance Families being acknowledged in this corporate mobility arena. 

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In the meantime, the second book in the Distance Families series, Being a Distance Son or Daughter is getting closer. For the last week my wonderful proofreader Paddy Hartnett has been pouring over the manuscript. I liken him to a fastidious  cleaner who scrubs and dusts, making every nook and cranny sparkle.  Every writer needs  a Paddy in their lives.

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ON THE HOME FRONT

Our guest room is getting a Spring clean after a long hiatus.

My U.K. stepson is arriving mid-March for a month. It's been a long time between drinks, as the saying goes - our first family visitor in three years. We're very excited and so is he.

In the meantime, when we did a Risk Analysis of our U.S. based daughter travelling down later in 2022 with our two wee grandson lads we all decided it was more riskier for them to end up stranded in NZ with COVID than hubby and I suffering the same fate in the U.S. So arrangements have changed and we'll be visiting the U.S. in a few months. 
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One of my masters research findings was, 'Change is a constant companion for Distance Grandparents'. I'd add to that - flexibility is a super power.

Kindest regards
​Helen Ellis