So long… farewell…
July 30, 2009 i love him, this is me and heart
In just a few short HOURS, our family will be moving across country from Tampa, Florida to just east of Seattle, Washington.
Crazy you say? Well , it’s just about 3200 miles – in a moving van , together ,for 5 days. Indeed , crazy – but very worth it.
Two years ago, our family made the move to Tampa , Florida. The hubs was offered a fantastic job at a trauma hospital . It was an offer we could not turn down. We packed up and made the big move – across country – seriously. ACROSS . THE. UNITED STATES.
We thought this would be a fantastic move , a fresh start. You see, our family has been dealt a real blow. Our youngest son, our sweet little chubby cheeked, smarty pants little man, lost his battle with cancer. The pain from this is hard to put into words – in fact, I don’t believe there are enough words to describe the immense pain a Mommy and Daddy’s heart feels from such a loss.
Sooo, the move was made. The job is and was well worth the move – however, our then 14 year old was miserable. We ripped him ( his words) out of the private school he had been attending from pre-k to half of 8th grade and threw him ( his words, again) into a new school, new people and a new life.
He hated it. He went from our outgoing son to a very unhappy, angry young man. In Washington state he was always the class clown, the popular and fun kid – in Tampa he was silent, made just a few friends and felt like he was not able to fit in. He tried out for varsity basketball and , thank God – he made the team. Hubs and I were sure that would bring him around. Even that, the true love of his life ( being basketball) did not do the trick.
This was his freshman year – a crucial year. Right before our eyes , we were losing another child – emotionally. My heart hurt so bad. I wanted to fix it for him , I wanted to just wrap him into me and hug on him. He wouldn’t let me near him.. ever. I don’t think we really had a whole heartfelt conversation that year at all. Seriously. So angry. SO very angry.
Moving fast forward here – the day that his school let out for summer vacation, he went to Washington state on a fishing trip with my husbands family. We had planned on flying up 3 weeks later for the 4th of July weekend to spend time with our Washington family.
I will never forget our son, greeting us at the aiport. NEVER will that image leave my heart.. and mind. He was smiling, and I am talking ear to ear smile. He hugged me. HE WAS HAPPY TO SEE US!! I was sobbing on the inside, sobbing from happiness. Our son was back. My heart was elated.
The first moment alone with my hub , I shared with him and I cried – how could I take our son back to Florida when I saw such a drastic and emotionally crucial difference in him? How could I put him back in a school where he was so angry, so withdrawn? Oh – and SO above, academically. He was an easy grade and a half above his peers. He was doing work he had done previous years.
Our family has been separated – by choice, for a year. We were SURE that my husband would have been able to relocate within a few months of our son and I moving back “home”.
However, the economy had other plans and we’ve been kept apart. Living apart – parenting apart . Difficult yet very worth making the sacrifice for our son.
After many resumes and a few interviews – my husband WILL be relocating back to Washington state. Finally – back together.
I will be blogging our journey – the hotels we stay in and the sites that we see along the way.
3200 miles of a journey, so very worth doing.
Posted by Chrissi @ 8:58 pm | 2 Comments
