London, Day 1

At the risk of sounding like a spoiled, complain-y, Negative Nancy, I'm just going to tell it like it was.

Yesterday was our first day here, and it was rough.  Not nearly to the point of regretting this decision or anything, but a bit on the ugly side nonetheless.

First, it was a short night on the plane.  Lack of sleep does nothing for my mood - just ask Josh!

After that, we stumbled into a few road blocks associated with setting up cell phones, bank accounts, and Internet.  I should not have expected that all of these little details would work together seamlessly and quickly, or that setting them up would be as simple as it would have been in the States.  We did manage a successful IKEA trip, but getting to another part of town via a long Tube ride, our own two feet, and a shuttle bus took an extremely long time.  Who knew it wouldn't be like driving my Subaru to Target?  In the end I was just disappointed with our progress yesterday.  Coupled with exhaustion and a unrealistic desire for everything to be settled, I was downright disheartened.

In short, the realities of A) moving + B) moving to another country that might do things differently caught up to me.


But God's mercies are new every morning.

It's a beautiful day here.  I got a decent amount of rest last night, and made a trip to the grocery store for milk and trash bags and laundry soap.  We ate a delicious breakfast overlooking the Thames.  We figured out how to use a temporary Internet service here at the apartment and how to use Skype to make local phone calls until our iPhones are up and running.  The apartment manager told us that we could keep our stroller on the main floor in a little closet, and wouldn't have to lug it up and down the stairs with each outing.

And the IKEA couch we bought yesterday should be delivered this afternoon.  Hooray!  We won't be limited to an air mattress for our seating around here for too much longer.

And I got to Skype with my mom and daughter today.

See?  Mercies.  And the beginnings of a grateful heart once again.  Why DO I have to learn that lesson over and over?  I'd have hoped it would get more ingrained in me by now.  I still have a lot to learn.