Shelf Life

There are three lives on the shelf…well…two anyway. The little life that’s started we’re trying to keep off the shelf. My little girl, Speculoos, is amazing.

Our journey has begun in earnest but there have still been awful delays. Soon the shoreline and home will be gone, no longer visible and no longer relevant. My family and I will truly be adrift with nothing below our feet but open, undulating water and we’ll have to navigate by our dreams. It’s horribly frightening and exhilarating all at once.

For this to happen, we’ve packed up our lives as compactly and neatly as we can. Everything that’s important to us is stowed in a box. Even the things we do that are important to us have been stowed away. Gym for instance has been packed away for the foreseeable future but it has to be so. Just for a little while. We’re living on almost nothing and by that I mean that our beautiful mansion of a house is empty save for 3 rooms. The bedroom, the kitchen and Speculoos’ play room. Those are the only rooms we’re using at the moment and the only rooms with “living items” in.

The delays, only a few days’ worth, have put our plans back a month. This saddens me because with all my heart, I was hoping to have my family with me in Belgium by the time Speculoos turned two. This won’t happen unless I get work very quickly and this is what I’m wishing for most of all. My skills are sought after and I should be able to get work easily enough but I hope it’ll be quick enough.

The laws in Belgium governing the amount of people living in a home are very strict. The size of the home governs how many people may stay there. Unfortunately my aunt’s home, and my first port of call, can only accommodate one extra person. As I’m the legitimate working age Belgian, I have to go first. This means I leave behind my beautiful wife and little girl until I land that employment.

I suppose that’s also good incentive to hit the ground running from the moment my feet strike solid Belgian soil! Those Belgians won’t know what hit them – they’ve NEVER seen the likes of me!

I will wow, stun and kick overall bum with my skills. King Albert II and Queen Paola will wonder how Belgium ever managed without me!

Ciao for now.