When we found out Adam would be sent to Bahrain for a few months; we were angry, sad, and worried how this was going to shake up our little family’s world. At the time we found out, I had really been looking forward for life to settle down for a while and instead quite the opposite happened. 5 months apart and then (almost) 5 months with our family abroad. Now that we have left Bahrain as a family, I already miss our hot and sandy home. Bahrain left more of an impact on us in those few months than some places do in years. I believe New Jersey will always be our long-term home but the experience of living abroad while continuing to learn how to be new parents left a profound mark on our lives and passports.
Here are a few lessons Bahrain taught us:
1. Wherever we are, we can have a community. My biggest worry was for Milo to move so far away from the only family and friends he knew. But in Bahrain, Milo made so many friends he played with every day, we made so many friends instantly who welcomed us into their circles, and finally- the people that worked in our building were absolutely an extension of that community for us all.
2. The people, interactions, and friendships from a place are everything. We have such fond memories of Bahrain because of that overwhelming sense of community we gained, so quickly. Because so many people are immigrants, expats, and military, so many are displaced themselves thus incredibly open to making new friends and sharing their unique experiences.
3. The beach is good for the soul. Bahrain doesn’t have the biggest beach culture but where we lived had easy access to the shore and Milo is now our biggest resident beach bum. (Which makes me as a parent so proud!!)
4. Making kids happy is a priority and always should be. Whenever we went to a coffee shop the baristas would give Milo cookies (so much so that now Milo believes coffee shops = cookies), whenever we went to the market- people would go out of their way to play with our boy and offer him toys, at Milo’s beloved Jelly-tots everything from toys to ball-pit was set up for children to have so much fun, and finally every public space had children in mind. Because I was immersed in this culture all summer I noticed I had so much more fun being a parent. As the summer wore on I found my self making extra stops at McDonalds for ice-cream cones and spending more time throwing rocks at the beach as these little activities brought Milo so much happiness and because of that, I gained so much happiness too!
5. There is no place for judgement when there is so much diversity. Because people are from everywhere, speak so many different languages, practice different religions; there is no “right” way to do anything simply because there are too many different right ways. This was incredibly comforting to us as we began finding more of our own right ways as a family for bedtimes, travel, and everything in between. This was a very freeing outlook to catch onto!
6. Keeping our family together no matter the weird military/ life circumstances is most important. Before Milo and I were able to go out and visit Adam we were really struggling being apart. As soon as Adam left, Milo could sense the change and I could tell he really missed his Dad. Because of this our boy was having night terrors every 2-3 weeks, waking up 2-4 times each night, getting sick constantly, and going through a hitting phase. Whew. When I look back now I see how much he was struggling with the transition and how much I struggled alongside him those months (not just to stay awake). When we were reunited- it didn’t matter where we were everything got so much better.
7. Travel can still happen and in some ways be even better now that we’re parents.
All in all the people (special shout out to Milo’s tribe of friends at the Flagship, Jelly tots, the Bunco ladies, and of course all of his dog friends of the island), the experiences, food and togetherness created some of the best memories and outlooks for us.
Tiny Treks 