We spent a year abroad in France and enrolled our kids in a local school. Coming home was bittersweet.

Gemma Bonham-Carter and her family left Canada to spend a year in the South of France.

Provided by Gemma Bonham-Carter; Crystal - Of Wild Dawn Photography/Crystal - Of Wild Dawn Photography

• Gemma Bonham-Carter and her husband had lived abroad and wanted the same for their two kids.
• They rented out their house in Canada, lived in an apartment in France for a year, and sent their kids to a local school.
• She says it changed her as a parent.

This as-told-to essay...