So here I am - from a big huge crane, to a banana tree!

So, this is my umpteenth attempt at blogging, however, at this point in my life, I feel it more essential that I do something like this than any time before. For those of you whom know me, my family and I have been living one amazing adventure for the last 14.5 years. Having lived in London, Singapore, Moscow, Kazakhstan, and now here in India, I really feel that I should start marking my time in some way. It's not just that really; my husband, in this new posting, works really crappy hours - 2pm until 11.00pm Monday to FRIDAY! This means that I am home alone from around 7.30 when I put my kids to bed. I want to put this time to good use, and this is one way in which I plan to do it.Each of the different cities we have lived in has marked decidedly different aspects of my life and personal development. I've been thinking a lot about this. It's taken me a long time to develop, and i still don't think I am there yet. I'm hoping that living here in India will help me to move to my next stage.I'm at a point now where I feel the need to grow. I have for my whole adult life following my boyfriend who then became my husband around the world. I'm now 37. I've not worked for 8 years. A stay at home wife (briefly), and then for the last 6.5 years, a stay at home mother. Now, I can't really complain, because I've travelled the world. I've lived and experienced different cultures. I've seen all types of places - beautiful, and peaceful to dirty and threatening - and for almost half of that, so have our two children. Through out this, I've had to learn to adapt, to get used to the culture, the language, the ways of the people, and their weather. But that I think is a problem. I've followed, I've adapted, I've done all I can to make my surroundings a success, but where is me? Where is my sense of self in all of this? I'm a wife, a mother, an adapter, but who am I when I am not fulfilling these other roles? That's what I intend to find out during my three or so years here in India.For the moment, life is interesting in itself as I settle my family into our new home. My youngest, who is 3.5 has yet to start pre school, so don't expect too much from me until this happens, please.In the meantime, an explanation - why Cranes to Palms? Well, we have a flat in our hometown in Glasgow, and when I look out of the window, I have a view of the most enormous crane (a remnant of shipbuilding days gone past). Here, as I sit typing, I see the leaves of one of the palms from our banana tree in our back garden. Hence the name Cranes to Palms.Hope you enjoy my experiences here, and how they help me to grow!