An introduction to the blog title and first sights

 Hi!

Thanks for reading along, I am excited to share our ordinary days, highs, and lows with you and to journal this special time in America. 

Why elephantwarthog.com? [Disclaimer: cheesy but needs an explanation]

We've been Warthog and Elephant since 2002. Our story goes like this. Once there was an elephant, who fell in love with a warthog. Quite an unlikely combination, but what a pair they made! 'Ele' is patient, takes his time, and likes to do things in his set ways. He is gentle, kind, a good listener, and can be stubborn.  Warthog has itchy feet, she is on the lookout for fun and sometimes gets into trouble diving headfirst into things. She is spontaneous, generous in heart, and a quick-thinker. The pair have a lot of fun, are a productive team (and occasionally drive each other nuts).

They've had offspring (fortunately without trunks or tusks) and live a pretty ordinary life. They both enjoy an adventure - Warthog is usually the one seeking it; Elephant pretends to be dragged along, deep down he loves it. This is the biggest one yet - a few years in America! 

Here we will revert back to Paul, Katherine, Iris, and Theo but there you have the history for the URL. 

Today the kids have set off for their first afternoon at Summer Camp. It's being held in their school (Lincoln school). They were apprehensive but put on brave faces and soldiered into the strange building together. I had to wait outside because of COVID precautions. We had a lovely walk to the school, about 15mins walking along streets with pretty houses and beautiful flowers growing in their gardens. The lack of boundary walls and fences is a nice change. The open properties and the busy use of public green space give the neighborhood a friendly, warm feel. 

I'm so inspired by how brave my kids have been with all the changes. I'm also really enjoying more quantity time with them. So often we think it's the quality time that counts, I've found it's the mundane-feeling quantity time that makes the biggest difference to connection.  I’m also feeling more connected to my life by doing more domestic work. I'm sure that novelty will wear off, but in CT I sometimes felt like I was outsourcing the best parts of my life (walking my dogs, spending time with my children, preparing food as a way of showing my family I love them). 

Today I visited the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute where I will be working. It was a surprisingly short commute on the bike, less than 2km, and along a greenbelt. Great for safely, given that the car direction keeps taking me by surprise! What struck me was the sports paraphernalia and sports information on the walls. Red Sox, Boston marathon history and photos, and others (next time I’m there I will take a pic). I love the celebration of sport in a cancer research building; sport speaks of living life to the full. Working towards helping people to live their full life in cancer research is inspiring.

I'm off to walk to pick the kids up from the camp. We bought cod for dinner, it cost a small fortune. Food is very expensive (we will have to make some adjustments and eat more vegetarian meals). Maybe it will feel better when I start earning dollars and stop doing x*15 with every transaction. I need to also figure out how to get some SA wine here! 

Signing off... 

kA

Pic below - Theo being dragged through Harvard campus. The idea was to inspire them, but both kids were more hot and bothered than anything else. The bookshop was a hit, Iris went for new books that interested her and Theo found old favourites;  a comforting sense of familiarity in an otherwise strange place. Amazing what books can do!