It has now, officially, been a year since our family moved to the UK, how the time flies by! This weekend I was cleaning up photos and reflecting on the last year with the following conclusions:

• On risk:  I have often said that nothing worthwhile doing is every easy. The move to the UK was risky for many reasons; Would the family like it? Would I be successful in a new work culture? Would I enjoy living here? How would the boys integrate into a new school? In the end, as I said to a friend recently, life is about taking chances. Sometimes it pays off and ends exactly how you wanted to end, sometimes it goes awry and you learn a lesson or two, but in the end there is always some type of pay off. In this case, there were lessons learned and many successes, so the risk was absolutely worth it.
• Experiences:  Life is all about experiences and memories. Prior to coming to the UK I was a luddite, opposed to change. Sitting in Canada we had a good life – good friends, family close by, great golf club, great ski club and a home with a great yard where we spent many happy hours lounging by the pool. But I had never really been anywhere, some US travel, trips to the Caribbean and a trip to the UK and Germany on business a decade ago. This year has taught me that there is a marvelous world out there with so much to see, experience, learn about and enjoy. I will never be the same. The last year has changed me beyond measure, I have the bug.
• On family:  When you are in a new situation, it either brings you together or sends you farther apart. As we reflect on the experiences of the year, one thing is clear; our family has transformed into an International family and the experience has brought us even closer together. Life is all about the stories, we have many exciting family stories to tell.
• On the UK:  I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to start our International travels here. The people of Britain are wonderful people with a history that is thousands of years old, a country pride that is deserved and a sense of humour that I truly enjoy. Britain is one of the greatest countries in the world and after a year, we have only scratched the surface.
• On business:  In the end, what has been reaffirmed for me this year is that success is all about people. Regardless of the country I am in, if there are good people to work with, then success is within reach. Sometimes it may take a bit longer than you wish, there will be risks taken that payoff, there will be risks that you take that will fail and turn into learning experiences, but as long as you have good people, you will get there. I work with great people, success is there.

To summarize, as my boys said to Narda the other day ‘This has been the best year of our lives’. I cannot agree more.