Friends, not neighbors

C, B and S

I have three children.  My daughter, I'll call her "C", is 5 and in Kindergarten. My oldest son, "B", is 9 and in 4th grade. My younger son, "S", is 7 and in 2nd grade.  They are neat kids. They are interesting. I like them, I mean as people, if they weren't my kids, I'd still like them. But I'd still be relieved when they went to bed at night. They do have a lot of energy.

My husband and I have been very open with the kids about the Foreign Service and what it could mean to them. The kids know that we may be moving, or we may not. They know that "Dada" may have a job that allows us to live in different countries. Or he may not. They have benefited from talking through a range of feelings regarding a possible life change. The 9 year old B was gung-ho from the beginning. He is ready for adventure. He likes collecting coins and stamps, and I think he's hoping to add to his collections. The 7 year old S is open to the move, but says he'll miss his buddies. He makes friends easily and is a good friend to others. Plus he's very funny. So I don't think he'll have a hard time. Of any, my  concern was my 5 year old daughter C. We have neighbor girls who are her best friends. They ride the bus together every day, they are in the same Kindergarten class and they play together when not in school. She loves them. C's the one who said, "I do NOT want to move!" She likes what she knows. We have been reassuring her. We want her to know that it will be okay, no matter what happens. We will all be together, as a family. And we will be okay.

Today the neighbor girls were saying to C, "We will miss you if you move away. We don't want you to move." And C said, "Don't worry, if I move to another country, we'll still be friends, just not neighbors." I'd say that's progress. C is actually very outgoing and talkative and I have no doubts that she will be just fine.