The community we leave behind

When we first moved to our town I found it cute and charming...then confining. Having grown up in a city I was frustrated to have to drive 30 miles to get to the things I was used to. I remember when I was pregnant with my first child- there were not maternity clothes to be found in town! And when I was out and about in town everyone else seemed to know each other, but not me. I just felt out of place and unwanted.

But now it has been 8 years and all four of our children are "natives". It was through them that we finally got to know people and started to feel like we fit in. I didn't realize how comfortable and familiar this town had become until we decided to leave it. Today was a good example: my oldest boy, Liam, had his last dental appointment before we move. We made arrangements to keep in touch with our hygienist because, after all, she's known the kids since before they were born.

And the children's school. The school (Agathos Classical School) is probably the one thing that we are going to miss the most. It truly is a unique school where the students, parents, faculty, and staff are a family. Many schools like to think of themselves as a family, but Agathos really is. We had to take the kids out of school a couple of weeks ago because we're traveling around the country visiting family and friends before we leave, and each class threw a party for our children. They sent them off with cards, little gifts, gift cards to make our travels easier, and money to help us along our way. The kids don't fully understand everything that is going on, but I hope some day they can look back on those cards and see how much they are loved. And I'm so thankful for this modern era when we don't have to lose touch with people when we move. Skype, email, Facebook, blogs, and good old fashioned mail.

These next couple of weeks we'll be making a lot of decisions about what to take and what to leave behind and I'm so glad there's one thing we definitely won't have to leave behind: our friendships.