Visiting home...

In just over one week we'll be getting on a boat and sailing across the sea that separates me from my homeland. England, the UK is so close, but yet so far in many ways.
I'm both excited and apprehensive about our trip. The kids are very excited, especially Laila. It's almost 2 years since they've been back to their native country. Hubby and I went briefly last year for a wedding, but we had less than 48 hours to soak in the culture, not long enough.

This time we're taking the kids, to show them England, where they were born, where we used to live, people they knew when they were little, most of whom they don't even remember! To see family they do know and are looking forward to seeing so much. To show them London, Laila is very excited about seeing the Queen or the Princess or even the baby Prince! We're taking their class mascot with us, to take photos of him in front of all the big monuments!

Laila has lived more of her life in France than in England now, Max the majority of his life in France. I don't think my kids are very French, not in comparison to French kids. But I just know they're going to seem really French in comparison to English kids! This is the part I'm apprehensive about. Not so much what other people with think, but will I regret the choices we made for our family? Probably not, there's no real reason to. But I'm going to see a lot of "what if's...". 
We're going back to Bath, where we lived for 9 years, where we got married and where both our children were born. Most of our friends have left and moved elsewhere now, but our baby group (NCT group) are still there. With a whole troop of kids the same ages as Laila and Max, the troop they would still be friends with if we still lived there. We're going to go back into this group as foreign visitors and I think I'll be upset that we'll no longer fit in...

But I'm so excited to show the kids everything that is England, this strange land whose language they speak everyday with me. For them England is a foreign country, for me, it's my homeland. I don't want them to be disappointed, I don't want to be disappointed. England has changed I know, people will have changed, we have changed.