First thing I thought about was whether or not the title of the page still fits. It does. We are NOT in Kansas anymore (some of us never were, but that is aside the point) and DH's job still moves us with a frequency of every 3-5 years or so. Not sure why or how it happens, but it does and every time we think we're done moving and set down some roots, we get ripped out of the ground again and moved to an entirely new state. With new people. And culture. And weather. Good thing I grew up moving every three years for my dad's job. This is old hat to me, and it is proving to be old hat for my daughters, too.
A & J are surprisingly good at this. We moved, most recently, from Illinois to California. HUGE. BIG. FAT. DIFFERENCE. We might as well have moved to Mars. We live in NorCal (get with the lingo, folks. Northern California) in the bay area. We are surrounded by homes that cost millions of dollars. MILLIONS!! And they are two-bedroom condos. No, seriously! Where these people get their money is beyond me. I am a teacher, and so I signed on for a life of destitution. Luckily, D is not a teacher, and so we can eat and not be naked and things like that.
The girls are adjusting beautifully. A is growing ever more proficient on the flute and it is such a part of her life that she is not happy without it. She is in 7th grade at a public middle school and is in both band and choir. She is, in fact, the ONLY student in her school who is doing both sides of music. You see, they only get two electives per semester and they are only supposed to take one music because they last all year and it eats up half of their electives for the year. Abby is taking two musics and so she gets no other electives. She loves it, but gets a lot of questioning glances from teachers and parents alike. Probably because, here in Silicon Valley, it is kind of expected that kids take rocket science, or neurophysics (is that a thing?) or something like that, with their free time. A is smart - she is in advanced math. Everybody breathe. She loves music. She wants it to be part of her career someday. I'm gonna let her do this.
J is in 4th grade and going into 23rd grade next year. She is smart, sassy, passionate about equality, and a model and actress. Hoo boy. That's a whole other blog post. She loves it here. She is thriving. She is meant to be here. We will not be here forever. I am experiencing anxiety over the impending implosion that will happen when we have to move - be it in one year or five years. It will happen. We cannot stay here forever. It doesn't feel like home. It's lovely. And sunny. And smart. And fast. And tense. But we don't belong here, and by "we", I mean me. I love it but it doesn't feel right. We'll stay as long as we can. But not forever.
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