so similar and so different at the same time

Last week I didn't go to Bible study as Soeun and I were both vomiting.
Then we cancelled our weekend plans because the toddler had a fever.
Then cancelled Monday because we were all recovering from that.
Then Monday night the baby got a fever, and on Tuesday night I almost went home from work when she had some other weird symptoms.

That's been the general pattern of the last few months. We keep getting sick, and keep having to change plans because of it.

In some ways it reminds me of the two years we were in Aus. We kept cancelling plans all the time due to ill health.

In other ways it is really different.

This is MUCH less stressful, although physically hard, and frustrating at least these are all short term normal health issues. The others toddlers we play with are also getting fevers randomly. People get the flu, people have tummy issues.

When in Aus we had the the physically hard side of it as well as it being so stressful. The health problems got worse and worse despite doctors visits , lifestyle changes, trying medicines etc etc. On top of that because it was hard for us and doctors to understand it was even harder for the people around us to understand which added to the strain.

I'm just realising this now, how much less stressful it is when I tell friends I can't come to events because we are vomiting and/or have fevers etc. Its easy for them to get it, as they have probably had it themselves. Sooo different to our life in 2011-2012..

Nevermind the fact that we were going through all that at the same time as living back in Aus after a number of years in Cambodia....

tail end of hot season

These days one of us is out almost each night while the other looks after the kids, it feel exhausting at the best of times but with power cuts and sickness added in, its even more exciting.

Early this week I left  for work feeling hot and tired and gross. I often feel like that in the afternoon, esp on a hot day with no power as this one was. It was extra hard to leave as the babysitter who has just started working for us just messaged to say she was sick and not coming. Soeun was staying home anyway, so it was ok, but he was hoping to get some lesson prep done, and have help with the kids while he cooked dinner. No power, no babysitter, erk!

Anyway, by the time I got home I was feeling worse. Soeun had had a hard afternoon and evening with the kids and when I finally got home it got even harder- they were still awake and then I started vomiting... I had started the day feeling gross and it only got worse....and then Soeun was vomiting too. It was a really yucky evening, with the kids still awake, the power on but not enough to run the air con ... both parents sick while the kids still energetic and awake late at night!

Thankfully it was short lived. Two days later I was eating normally again, and feeling better. Just in time as now the toddler is sick. He had a high temperature yesterday, so we had an eventful night, including a few hours with no power just as I was trying to make dinner.

Soeun is busy with an old family friends wedding. He considered not going because of all the sickness and power cuts this week, but we already missed an important wedding a couple of months ago so we didn't want him to miss this one too.

our next trip to aus...????

Its been longer than we would have liked since our last trip to visit friends, supporters, churches in NSW. The last few years we have had so many big changes we haven't really had a chance, we always seem to be moving to a new town or having a baby.

This time last year we were hoping to make a quick trip but it didn't work out. At some stage we'd like to make another trip like this one : click here for Aust trip 2010. "Exhausting but good..." to quote myself.... see below below for full quotes.

These kind of trips are usually both very exciting and very hard. This time around if feels a bit harder as it will be the first time we do it with chronic illness and kids, and also because of the way we left there is a bit of a mental hurdle. It was hard the whole time we were there (almost 2 years) but we kept trying to make it better/hoping it would get better. In the end we had to leave in desperation/ exhaustion.

From our 2010 trip:

"Over the last 6 weeks I've slept in about 8 different beds. 
Over the last 4 weeks we've done the watering can presentation about 22 times. 
We've seen lots of people we haven't seen for 3.5 years, others I haven't seen for about 8 years. 
Some friends and family we saw for the last time in X amount of time as we all live overseas. 
It's been our first winter in 5 years.
Lots of meetings and lots of people helping us. 
Exhausting time but it's been good to try to get things set up for next year."

"Well my brain is quite full at the moment. Being new in the country it takes ages just to do basic stuff, and I feel tired and overwhelmed. But its also exciting to see people, and there are so many interesting things to look at. I keep running into people when I'm walking down the street because I'm too busy staring at everything. And maybe because people here walk on the wrong side of the foot path. I'm enjoying the foot paths, thats something I miss when in Cambodia. Each day here I feel like I'm trying to organise what I'm doing today and trying to think about what I need to do do get ready for next week as well.
I'm feeling much better than I was earlier on. The first few days always seem to be horrible. "

KNY

Our 2nd KNY in SR. So different from April anywhere. Stars decorate the town and there is heaps of stuff on, although I still have not been to anything (its hot, don't really have transport). We usually just get together with family. My mother in law couldn't make it this year because of the drought.
My bil came tho, and I was surprised when he was listening to our neighbours.  It was the first time he'd seen the ceremony where you splash water on your old people. It was my first time to hear it last year, but its familiar to Soeun.