Friday, November 18, 2011

What do the kids really think?

We are excited.

The kids are excited.

Our Tassie friends are excited.

To be honest, we haven't stopped banging on about our beloved little Tassie since we arrived in Sydney 18 months ago and so our Sydney friends and extended family are happy for us too.

Miss Fancy is looking forward to being with her old friends and having space for animals.

Blue Eyes is mostly looking forward to the dirt hill. I'm sure we could have arranged a pile of dirt for him in the backyard here at a substantially cheaper cost than an interstate relocation but I understand what he means. Lots of space with dirt, rocks and trees is the ultimate playground for boys.

The little boys were 18 months when we left so I doubt they would remember any details but I know they will love being there.

But it got me thinking. Now that reality has set in and the cardboard boxes are being filled with all their possessions, what do the kids really think about leaving the life we have had here for 18 months. We have made some wonderful memories here and to them, 18 months is a huge chunk of their life. It's a big call to uproot them even though I know it's the right decision for us. They have become quite attached to their little friends, cousins and extended family.

I think kids can be good at keeping up appearances. Even the resilient ones. Especially when asked direct questions by adults like, "So, what would you think about moving back to Tassie?" or "Are you excited about moving back?". They feed off our excitement and intuitively know that we would want them to be excited too. These sorts of questions don't really provide little children with the space to really consider what they think. These types of questions are almost more of a statement than a question. I do genuinely believe that the kids are excited about this new chapter but despite my best efforts to find out what the children are really thinking, I've been on the lookout for other unprompted clues.

And today, right there in black and white is the clue I've been waiting for. A picture from our 7 yr old spontaneously shoved under our bedroom door. No questions. But a big answer. 






Hope everyone has a wonderful cardboard box free weekend!



4 comments :

  1. That's so cute, wow you must be tired and excited all at the same time! Goodluck with the final run!

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  2. Your children will love it, they have each other for a start, anything that brings them back to open space & dirt, is a winner. We kept moving from Sydney to Darwin, i can assure you, my 4 loved Darwin, the space, the weather, the monsoons, the freedom, the activity, simply fantastic. Even though my husband & i were born & raised in Sydney, we became parents in Darwin (all 4 of them born up there) & we brought that lifestyle & way of raising children back to Sydney with us, including cloth nappies & bike riding in the rain.
    I know your fridge will be filled with many happy drawings of piles of dirt (mine are also particular to pine bark hills) in the future. Happy moving, i love new starts, adventures & reigniting old friendships again. Love Posie

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  3. Waiting eagerly in Hobart, Mel...J x

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  4. Validation if ever you needed it. Good luck all!

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