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WORKSHOPS & EVENTS
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Beyond the Juggling Act
- a lively workshop for mums who are balancing work and family commitments.
Back by popular request!! And already filling up . . .
Based on a circus theme, this fun and supportive workshop will get you thinking about your work/life balance in a totally new way.
You'll leave with new, practical ideas, new perspectives and some do-able next steps.
Date: Sunday 26th May
Time: 9.30 - 12.00
Location: Schifflande 3, Basel (academia)
 Invincible Mums Abroad
- Open House
by Alive to Change and friends
7 rue du Landskron, Leymen
Thursday June 13th 2013
Drop in : 11am to 8pm
This end of term Open House is for friends and clients of Alive to Change (ie you!) and your friends!
This unique event features activities by guest Mums who work to offer services and support to Mums Abroad.
It's a drop in when you want and for as long as you want. Come with or without your kids. Bring a friend! For programming, catering purposes and parking directions I'd appreciate an indication of whether you can come, and roughly when! You can sign up on the Facebook event Open House event Page
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Dear all,
So April has now been and gone in what seems like record time. Can't these months hang around just a little? We had two weeks of holiday at home, and the girls thoroughly enjoyed a slower pace and the chance to chill with friends. At the end of the holiday, we headed off for our annual cycle tour with friends, this year with me behind the wheel instead of the handlebars. While the others cycled through the Black Forest, I profited from some quiet time and woodland scenery to do my exercises to reeducate my shoulder and a little light reflection.
One of the things I reflected on was patience. My lack of it at times when I most need it. Take this reeducation for example. Each day I need to do my stretches and strength exercises, and, while each day I get a little further and things feel a little easier, I still bemoan the fact that I'm not "there yet". So I push too hard . . and inevitably my body says "Stop, take your time, be patient". I find I can be patient with other people in the most unlikely of situations, then impatient with myself when I most need it.
Are you always patient with yourself?
It's Mother's Day - or is that Mothers' Day - in France and Switzerland this month and in many parts of the world. (I hesitate around the apostrophe only because my own Mum would take great care to get that right and I have developed apostrophe anxiety as a result). It's our special day to be treated and appreciated. I still have all the lovely poems and pictures my daughters made for me at school (they've stopped doing that now they are in Collège). Yet, let's also remember the other 364 days of the year when perhaps our contributions are not under the spotlight - can we dare to treat ourselves and appreciate ourselves on these days? Let's do it!
This May newsletter focuses on what it is like to be a Mum abroad. I'd love to hear whether this reflects your experience. I also re-introduce Invincible Mums abroad and invite you to a special event of the same name. Yes, I first proposed this a while ago, and as an idea it is developing and gathering support - so I am being patient with myself and seeing if it will get going this time. I've really enjoyed running 3 workshops this month, and welcoming new 1-1 clients. It's a real privilege to me to work with such fabulous women - there is such a diversity of skills, talents and backgrounds here. I thank you all for your ongoing support and interest in Alive to Change and I hope to hear from,see you or work with you soon. If you're ever curious about - or desperate for - coaching, your exploratory session is always free! all the best for a Marvellous May Kirstin www.alivetochange.comwww.facebook.com/alivetochange  |
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Five Features of being a Mum Abroad
1. Raising your "little" family far from your own "big" family. We have to work a little harder to keep that connection and support. Perhaps you miss out on big family get togethers, maybe you need to dedicate parts of your holiday time and fund to catching up and keeping in contact, perhaps you get intense and extended visits from family members. Thank goodness for Skype and Facetime, but these are no substitute for the real thing. We learn to value those relationships and make the most of the quality time we do get together. We create a strong and supportive unit around our "little" family.
2. Making new friends from all round the world. And seeing them move on. Or moving on yourself. With family far away, local friends play a special role - we share the fun times, we give each other practical and emotional support - if we can find them and keep them! We learn to spot connections quickly and follow up with people we want to spend more time with. Do we ever get over that sinking feeling when we find out they're moving on?
3. Navigating a new language/culture/school system/healthcare system/shopping times/workplace culture/social worlds. We should never underestimate the skills and persistence required to navigate these and many other aspects of living abroad. Things are different! Trying to work it out yourself can really drain your energy - yet most things have been navigated before. Thank goodness for on line forums and facebook pages - if we dare ask the tricky questions and navigate the many different points of view which then flow through! We learn how to do things the local way, and become "experts" briefly (it's always good to meet a brand newcomer and share your superior knowledge!). When we look back and reflect on what we have navigated, we should feel intensely proud - this is no mean feat.
4. Creating a sense of home for you and your family. We are very conscious of "where is home" when we live abroad. Is home a physical place, perhaps where you were brought up, where you last lived, where your family lives? Is it within the four walls you happen to live now? Is it somewhere else, anywhere else, that you feel "at home"? Is that feeling of being at "Home" a unique blend of feeling comfortable, welcome, safe, connected, cherished? Or something else. It is an elusive sensation - and can hinge on the tiniest of adjustments, the right picture here, a new routine there. Or, to be totally portable, is home "how you are" as a family, and, ultimately, as individuals? We learn that it is up to us to define, create and sustain this for our family, wherever we are.
5. Exploring. Of course we get to explore new places when we move abroad, and we get to explore connections with new people, families, languages, cultures. In addition, so many things get shaken up when we move abroad, we get a really new opportunity to explore who we are in all our roles and how we want to be. We may feel limited by external factors - and that might force us to explore new ways of moving forward. As we explore, we learn that there is no "right" way (to be Mum, to be a family, to work, to live), we learn there are many ways, and we learn to find our own way.
There is a lot of learning in being a Mum Abroad. Life lessons that may feel tough at the time, but which draw us out of our comfort zones and challenge us to work some things out for ourselves. We are stretched, to our limits at time, and we learn, grow and develop as a result.
Take a moment to reflect on all you have learnt during your time as a Mum Abroad. What has been the most instructive lesson for you?
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I recently read this article on being an expat - may ring some bells for some of you!
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| | | FEATURED EVENT | |
Invincible Mums Abroad - An Event, a Programme, a way of Connecting
I work with Mums Abroad in all kinds of situations - from being a newly arrived expectant Mum wondering how to settle in and create the support she knows she'll need ( Basel Children's Trust - my first recommendation), to Mums who are helping their young adult offspring prepare to leave home for University and wondering how that will change their lives again. And everything in between. One thing I notice whether working in groups or with individuals is that we all appreciate the opportunity to share with others, learn from others, and discover that, whatever our stage in our journey as Mums, we are not alone. Another thing I notice is that in this environment, we surprise ourselves with our ideas, our inspiration and our motivation to move forward. We don't always feel it as Mums, but we are pretty invincible. Think about what you have tackled, experienced, taken on, discovered, achieved. The highs and lows of our lives abroad conspire to make us stronger, more courageous, more skilled in many ways. Yet, how often do we recognise and value for ourselves what we are capable of? We can feel less than invincible, most of the time. My mission is to help Mums Abroad reconnect with their inner "invincible" resources - confidence, motivation, energy, the ability to ask for help and accept it, creativity, adaptability . . . so that when we are faced with the inevitable challenges, we already know we are invincible, and we can handle it. I invite you to join me on Thursday June 13th for an Open House event celebrating our Invincibility as Mums Abroad. I'll be joined by other Mums who work to support Families Abroad in Basel, and we'll organise a fun programme of mini-workshops and other activities to connect and inspire you. You can drop in for coffee, lunch, afternoon tea, or an evening apero - and leave feeling supported, motivated and Invincible! I'll be launching my Invincible Mums Abroad Programme - and sharing details of ongoing Invincible Mums "lite" events - coaching circles and virtual workshops which kick off in September.
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More about Alive to Change
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If you'd like to know more about Alive to Change and about my Coaching, please visit
or, to join in the conversations
or, to check out links to stuff I like in the area of coaching
To receive Tips from the Big Top, my newsletter for Mums at Work, please click Roll Up Roll Up Sign Up Here! Next issue out early next week.
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Developing ideas for the Autumn Series
I'm looking for your input and ideas for my Autumn/Winter series of workshops - is there anything you'd like to see me focus on? Is there anything you missed out on and want to see me run again? Do let me know!  Thank you
Kirstin
Kirstin@alivetochange.com
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