I think this is the hardest move we will ever make. We have moved in the past -and we even enjoy it. But we have not moved since having children. As India says, “I have lived here my whole life.”
It makes me think of plants in my garden. You can just yank a small plant out of the ground and replant it somewhere but it’s growth will be stunted or just stop. Or, you can carefully dig around it carefully and gently keeping it’s roots and home soil intact and replant it somewhere and it thrives. We have put a great deal of thought and time into making this move a good thing for the children.
As adults we can see down the road and know that our family will always have happy memories of this time in our life, but the kids are inexperienced and don’t know what a treat they are in for. They have been very brave. They have been very cooperative. We are immensely proud of them. I know that they will be blessed for making this step.
That being said -there have been tears shed by us grown ups too. We have some very special people in our lives. Both the Antonelli and Enos families are based in RI/Massachusetts. We have dear friends in the Warren, RI congregation. Swansea is a nice town with nice families that we have come to know over the years. (thanks to all the special doorstep deliveries of boxes for packing) The kids go to great schools and the teachers and staff feel like friends. So, yes, we will miss you all.
But we are just a skype call away. 😉 Or even a blog comment.