Moving On

Spring is the time of year when houses sell, it's a good time to move. Often new jobs dictate when you move, but it seems in coaching that alot of transitions/transactions happen in late winter, early spring, so the "For Sale" signs start to sprout on lawns. Our job changes have come at various times of the year. As we move into the close of the school year, (20 days left- yippee!!)I was thinking about the perfect time to move. It is not, I repeat NOT before the end of the school year. Please don't fall into any of the following myths:

I have to get my child in school so he /she will meet friends before the summer. Trust me. The kids your child may meet in school may not even live in your same neighborhood. As a parent, the worst choice I ever made was moving in May and enrolling my kids 5 weeks before school ended. Come on! As a teacher- what do you do with a student that has the sometimes trauma of moving, and then comes into a classroom where most of the 24+ kids have been together all year? Of course, the student is made to feel welcome, but it is very difficult to come into that type of situation as an adult, let alone a child. Advice? Wait until the fall when EVERYONE is new to their teachers, grade levels, etc. Friendships are formed much quicker that way than trying to fit in at the tail end of a year.

Advice? Get your child in some activity before you move, so when you arrive at the beginning of the summer, they will be able to meet kids their own age (softball, swim, golf, art lessons,etc.)
Throw a neighborhood party for kids- my husband went door to door, stopping parents on the street to find out the ages of their children. Once you meet one family, than the ripple effect begins.

There are also wonderful books written for children for varying age levels addressing the moving issue from the perspective of the child.(I will try to find some and let you know the titles-they escape me right now) The hardest move I had ever made was when my kids were 11, 7, and 4 because it wasn't just me picking up and leaving my friends and life, but the gut wrenching sobs of my children as they left their precious friendships also. The picture is embedded forever in my mind of my two sweet girls hugging and crying with my best friend's two sweet, precious girls on our front lawn the day we left Colorado. I don't know who cried harder or longer, but I do remember my husband asking as we drove through Nebraska and Kansas (on our way to Indiana) when we would ever stop crying. And those are loooonnnnggg states, believe me when you are driving in a van with three kids. I think my sniffles let up around St. Louis.

Anyway, finish out the school year, have a wonderful goodbye party and embrace the time you will share together with your family on this new adventure. NO schedules to follow- you can even pretend you are on vacation for the first few weeks until reality sets in. I firmly believe that each move strengthens your family ties- you have no one else to depend on. I always know my strength comes form the Lord, but never more than when I am in a new environment, totally out of my comfort zone with a family to take care of.

He goes before me, and He will go before you too- Trust Him!