What about me?

Its been about 3.5 months since we have been in Lausanne and now we are fully entrenched in the daily routine of IMD life. I am happy to report I have no complaints regarding getting enough time with my husband for my kids or time with him for myself. Of course there is an adjustment period getting to this point haha, but we made it! We have a great routine each week which includes stopping in during lunch breaks to get 15 minutes of time or my husband coming home for dinner about 3 times a week. AND we have had dinner out just the two of us pretty much once a week! It takes commitment from both of us and good communication but it truly is possible. However amongst all this...there's been one question nagging me at night lately..."what about me?"

At IMD we hear a lot from our partners about "self discovery" and "knowing your self". This is one of the key learnings the students will master almost more importantly than the academic principles upon graduation. After reflecting on this, I started to realize, while I was really happy with the way things were going, I am so busy being a mom and a supportive partner I was in danger of completely forgetting how I was going to advance myself this year. I think we default to think that this year is so busy making sure everything is in place at home for our partners, especially when you have a family, that we consciously put on hold continuing our long term goals or aspirations for ourselves. And believe me, I know at the end of this year I will be a far better mother and wife than before, and that is an amazing accomplishment in itself, but I need something just for me. So I have decided it is important for me to continue to advance myself in my working background of consumer and market research and hope to find some part-time project work throughout the year to keep myself in the loop. If I hadn't heard so much from my husband about IMD's teaching's in self discovery I probably would have repressed my desire to become re-engaged in my working life the entire year. But I have come to accept that this is who I am, a mother and a partner first and a working woman second. Both define who I am and I want to continue to advance this definition of myself.

And we're off...

Hi everyone.  My name is Nicole and I have moved from Toronto with my husband to be a part of the 2012 MBA class at IMD.  We have two kids, a boy, Aiden (age 3) and a girl, Sienna (age 1). Its hard to believe we are actually in Lausanne now and the MBA program is underway.  We have been preparing for this decision to pursue an MBA and move for over a year now and I would be lying to you all if I said it was easy.  The preparations and logistics that had to take place to move a family of four across the Atlantic ocean were stressful!  We sold our house, our car, and most of our furniture.  It was one of the most emotionally stressful things we have ever done.  Making decisions on what to keep versus what to donate or get rid of was awful.  We had lived in Toronto building a life together for almost 8 years and everything had a meaning.  So we decide to rent a small storage unit for items that were sentimental and very special to us and the rest went to donation centers or friends and family.  And after ALL of this sorting and planning we still ended up with 7 (yes 7!) hockey bags of luggage.

In the one year we have had to mentally and physically prepare for the move to Lausanne, there were at any given time of day a million questions running through my head of what this year would be like.  Would I be lonely?  How will I cope caring for two kids without the support of my husband and family?  What will it be like living in a foreign country?  How will I communicate and how fast do I think I can learn French?!  If there was a crazy or absurd thought to be had of how this year could be very difficult, believe me I THOUGHT OF IT!!  (Just ask my husband haha.  He was often on the other end of a barrage of questions "Oh and WHAT IF.....??!")  And now after being here for just 5 weeks, I can say these questions were valid and real, however I am discovering Lausanne is an truly amazing place to live.  It's BEAUTIFUL, there are so many things to do with kids from parks to community play groups, there are tons of expats (my first week I met two moms from Toronto and one from Chicago), and did I mention its BEAUTIFUL?!  We have made fast friends with a family from Chile who have two children the same age as mine and watching our two 3 year olds play is amazing.  One speaks Spanish and the other speaks English and its as if they never knew they don't speak the same language.  Somehow they figure it out and just today my son said "Maria is my best friend"!!  So just 5 weeks in to living and adjusting in Lausanne and I think we will be just fine.  I have been consciously trying to keep an open mind and take each day as an opportunity for my kids and myself to learn or experience something new.  I guess I just have to take the lead of my 3 year old son, I need to exist as if I had no preconceived biases or fears.  Who knows how many "best friends" I can have when the year is done?  : )