It was not an easy decision, nor was it anticipated exactly, but we are moving.

While I am very excited at this new opportunity, as a mother, I am keenly aware that despite all of the wonderful reasons for this move, it is my maintaining my family’s health and well-being during a difficult transition that matters most.

We haven’t loaded up the moving van quite yet, but we have done everything possible to make this move a smooth one so far.

~ Before anything was signed, we had a family meeting to discuss it. While the little ones didn’t add much to the discussion (“I want stairs!”) the older ones did have an opportunity to voice their concerns, wishes and ask questions. It was important to us that they knew this affected the entire family, so it was a family decision.

~ Once we made the decision, we left it up to them to announce it. This was after the appropriate family, friends, future and ex-employers were notified, but for their friends, it was their news to share. This may not seem like a very big deal, but it was in their minds, so it was an easy request to fulfill.

~ On our first house-hunting weekend, we looked for schools first. I figured that there would probably be dozens of wonderful homes in the area, (there were) but it was finding the right schools that mattered more. I did my research on the Internet and asked people in the area, and then I set up tours for the whole family to go on with the school’s administrator during a school day. This turned out to be a wonderful experience, and the kids got to see that life really isn’t so different from what they’re used to, just a little further north. We got information not only on the academics, but the sports and extracurricular activities as well, and even took in the prospective high school’s football game.

~ After school hunting came the house search. I let our Realtor know ahead of time that I wanted the kids to attend some of the appointments. It was important for them to see what houses were like and add their opinions. It was a unanimous decision when we found “the one.”

~ It isn’t all work. We made a lot of tourist stops that weekend, experienced our new city together and had a lot of fun. Trying the new
restaurants, shops and attractions together, we talked a lot about taking our future guests there as well.

~ And speaking of guests, I’ve top-loaded the first couple of months with a bunch. I’ve encouraged a lot of family and friend visits to ease us all into this new place.

Again, we haven’t moved yet, and I know there are bound to be bumps in the road as we adjust, but I’m trying to be mindful to give them control over the few things that I can, and make informed decisions and choices over the other things on their behalf.

~ Tracey Henry, the Suburban Diva