A mystery revealed

All is revealed. Well, not all. But "one thing is revealed" doesn't sound so good, does it?

I am the mystery blogger. Ooh, get me, as they say. Actually, I'm not sure anyone except me does say that, but "Ooh, get me, as I say" doesn't sound so good, does it?

Yes, it was me. I met up with Michelloui, writer of the blog The American Resident, in a Braum's, in a small town, in the middle of America. And it was fabulous.

The opening moments weren't so fabulous. I arrived at Braum's, and over the other side of the restaurant, by the serving area, there was Michelloui, smiling and waving at me. Except I didn't recognise her at all. Sure, she was medium height, long brown hair, friendly face. But it wasn't the same person who I'd met and sat next to at CyberMummy 2010. It's always amazing, in retrospect, how fast the human brain can work at moments like this. I smiled back and waved, and started walking towards her, while my mind processed the following questions: aaaagh, what am I going to do? how am I going to open the conversation with this woman I don't recognise at all? how has she changed her appearance so much? aaaagh, why does she look like that? what's wrong with the memory I have of her? why is my memory so bad these days? it didn't used to be, and aaaagh, who then was that person at CyberMummy I thought was Michelloui? I'm sure it was her... but it obviously wasn't... so who was it? aaaagh...

All that was whirring through the impressive organ that is my brain, while I was smiling and walking towards this woman, who was smiling and waving... and looking right past me... at the person who'd followed me in through the door.

Phew.

So then Michelloui and her husband arrived, and she did look remarkably like the woman who I thought was her at CyberMummy 2010 after all.

As Michelloui talks about here, there is something very lovely about meeting up with a blogger whose blog you've followed. It's like meeting an old friend and a new, all wrapped up in the same person. She brought her husband along with her, and within a minute, the three of us were yabbering away as if we'd known each other for years.

The best bit, if there was a best bit, was talking about the richness that you bring to your life, and to your children's lives, with getting to know another culture from the inside. I have this slightly guilty voice inside me, which says things like "you've ruined your children's education, they don't know their cousins very well, they aren't learning to love the English countryside, they can't spell 'favourite'", and though I try not to listen to that voice, it is there. So it was wonderful to have the affirmation of people who understand my situation from the inside, and could say "but look at all the experience is giving them", and not just the obvious things, but some of the intangibles that are really hard to identify and describe.

So thank you, Michelloui, for fitting me into your American trip. Thank you for finding somewhere easy for us to meet, and arranging it all. Thank you for bringing your husband along - it was fun to meet him. Thanks for the hobnobs. Thanks for a really fun lunchtime.