The Landscaping

The issue of the dogs has been put on the back burner for a while. It's one of those "we'll jump off that bridge when we come to it" things. There's a process to follow and we must first sell the house before we can even think of leaving. And to sell the house - we must finish the landscaping.

We've finally got grass after a year and a half and the plants are slowly being purchased and planted. It seems that every weekend we are free from now until xmas will be dedicated to completing the yard with a goal of being finished before xmas and placing the house on the market in the new year. So far, the more we do, the more we love it. Rolling around on the grass outside with the dogs is a novelty that we are well enjoying. I do want to go to China but if I could just take the house and the dogs......

We have to keep reminding ourselves that as great as the house is looking we were always planning on selling it. The neighbourhood is far more suited to families and we certainly are not. But the more effort we put in to the yard, the more we are enjoying living there. I guess our next house will have to be pretty fantastic - with a few acres, just so we don't miss this one.

The Dogs

A year and a half ago, when our house was finished being built, we went to the RSPCA to choose a dog to join us in moving into our new home. We managed to narrow it down to two who had been there quite a while and ended up taking home a beautiful four year old Dalmation x Greyhound who we named Jedi. A month later we found out that the other dog, Pepper, a six year old Staffy x Cattle Dog was still there, so we went and picked her up too.

Having no other real family, we’ve always considered the four of us to be a family unit. The dogs are beautiful and fit in easily; we take them on holidays with us and enjoy our time together. Leaving them behind is just so hard to consider but after doing some research, taking our dogs just isn’t an option.

I will not return them to a Shelter and I will not euthanise them. We have no family and the only friends we have that like/want dogs, have two already. It seems that re-homing them is the only option but it just seems like so many things could go wrong. How do you know they are going to be taken care of? I know they will be fine without us, they love us and are happy with us, but they are not bonded as such and the times we have gone away without them they have been perfectly happy to stay with friends (not a permanent option unfortunately) and aren’t that fussed by our return!! It seems that as long as they are cared for – they don’t mind where they are and I presume this mentality comes from having been at the RSPCA for quite some time. I honestly feel that I will be more heartbroken then they will.

And I have so many questions. What if we go and we hate it and we come back in two months time? Is it possible to find someone who would have them temporarily so that once the one year contract for work is up we can come back and all be a family again. Can we have our dogs back? Do we deserve them back after leaving them behind in the first place? Or what if we find a temporary home and then we choose to stay in China – what then?

I’m really at a loss and can’t think straight.

The Information Night

We went to a TESOL information night last night. It pretty much confirmed what we knew and had already researched. We still think China is the best option for us and the only thing stopping us is what to do with our dogs. I just cannot bring myself to leave them behind - but the alternative, to take them, seems purely selfish. Is it okay to put them through a 7 hour + flight only to be placed in quarantine and I can barely imagine how difficult it will be to bring them back into Australia. And it's one thing to say it's just the dogs stopping us but there are soooo many other factors we just can't put into place. We know the only option is to sell our current house, but what if it sells really quickly or really slowly or not at all? Do we buy another house here, or a townhouse so we have something to come back to. Do we buy a house to allow for if we still have the dogs or the more affordable option of a townhouse that would rule out the possibility of keeping the dogs? Do we leave the house fully furnished and rent it that way so we have something to come back to or unfurnished which is generally the easier option? Do we sell everything and use the money for right now or put it in storage so that we have everything when we return? And what if we don't return - do we have to come back just to sort out our furniture? Do we start the training now so that we are ready to go but face the possibility of never going and having wasted all that money, or wait till we are ready and packed to go but then be stuck here trying to finish the training courses? And why didn't we think of this option 3 years ago - before we built a house and got Jedi and Pepper? Then we could have gone over, had our experience, THEN come back, built a house and got our dogs....

The Beginning

We made the decision to change our lives today. Possibly by moving to China. It wasn't as quick as it sounds. It's not as if we woke up in the morning and said "we'll move to China". It was on the way home from work in the car that we decided. The suggestion was made a week or two ago and we've been umming and aahhing, as you should about such major moves. But action has always been my preferred method of thinking so here we are, about to start another adventure. Other options also include buying acreage with a small house or traveling / working around Australia.

I've always felt a little out of place, like I haven't quite found my 'niche' in life, particularly in terms of a career. I've drifted from job to job, changing my mind every 6 - 12 months about where I'm heading. Those that know me, know I'm not a "people person", inevitably clashing with someone in all situations. Those that have managed to get to know me well, know that I hate this fact. Marrying my husband was one of the few paths I chose that felt "just right". Lately I keep coming back to the feeling that I'm not making the most out of the time I've been given.

So a change is definitely in the wind. Will we move to China - that remains to be seen, but we are taking the steps to be in a position to do that. First step is to start downgrading our posessions and exploring our options.