Our two child things (5 and 2) are currently in Hawaii, but we are a military family, and we live where the Army tells us. This blog is designed to keep us in touch with our family and the friends we have made along the way, to offer insight into our turbulent military lifestyle, and to share our experiences as we try out "homing school." So glad you stopped by!

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Turmoil

This evening Child Thing #1 (shown here loving on her aunt--with underwear on her head) and I talked about moving back to Hawaii. We've always known our stay in Texas would be temporary...just while Daddy was deployed, and she has been looking forward to returning to our tropical island home.

"I'm so hot! When are we going back to Hawaii?"

or

"It's too cold! When are we going back to Hawaii?"

Plus she misses friends there, and most importantly, it was her home.

But after our conversation tonight, I realized that she no longer consideres Hawaii her home. She considers Texas her home, and she doesn't want to leave her home.

So now I'm wondering again if I made the right decision when I chose to move home for the deployment. Before we moved, I debated it for months, and my #1 reason against moving was this: as a military family, we already have so much turmoil in our lives, and I don't want to unnecessarily create any additional turmoil.

But I made the decision to move anyway, and I have to admit, it has been great getting to spend time with all our family here. It's great that the kids have gotten to know their relatives. It's also great that I get to enjoy some fantastic Mexican food every now and then (no salsa made from ketchup! hooray!).

Anyway, as I have said before, the child thing handles the upheaval really well. But even though she doesn't lash out, that doesn't mean that the change is easy for her or that it doesn't have an impact on her. And it really breaks my heart to see her suffering (albeit quietly) from it.
Now that she has completely adjusted and views Texas as her home, it's almost time to move back to Hawaii and start the whole process over.

And I feel guilty.






4 comments:

Bag Blog said...

Wow, beautiful girls! I was not a military brat, but I have cousins who were. I was always envious of them - the places they have lived and the closeness to each other. I got to know them best while there dad was in Vietnam (3 tours). They are amazing women who are fun and can handle any situation. You never know what God has in store for your children on down the road, but I have found that He uses our struggles to prepare us. Don't feel guilty. You are preparing stones for God's house.

Steve, Amanda, Kyle , Owen, and Madilyn said...

Amanda, I think you made a choice that was the best for your family. Yes, moving is difficult, but look at all the wonderful things that have come from moving to Texas. You lived close to family and had extra support, you and Scott bought land, and your kiddos are happy and healthy. Moving back to Hawaii will be alittle adjustment, but once you get settled in Scott will be home and again your family will be whole. You are such an amazing friend and you all can handle anything.

Miss you guys tons!

Amanda said...

Thanks, y'all. Your kind words do make me feel better. :) I know that after the adjustment period, she will be fine; she's one tough cookie. It just doesn't seem quite right that military kids have so much stress to deal with.

Amber said...

salsa made from ketchup!!??!! Aghast!!

Seriously though, I have some really good friends who are a military family. They moved here to SA almost 2 years ago, and are about to move again (to Italy!!!) this summer. They've moved every 18 mos or so before this and I just don't know how they do it! (I hate even saying that, I get the "how do you do it" a lot just for having 4 kids, and I always say "well, the alternative is not doing it, and that isn't an option" lol). She says there's definitely that transition period when they first move somewhere that is hard, but that they are so resilient! I think that the hardships that come with moving a lot really do build character that will be so useful throughout life! I think about how sheltered I was growing up, never moving out of DP until I got married. I thought it was the absolute end of the world when we moved to SA. Now I realize how awesome it is to trust in God's plan for our lives!