We were driving by the airport on Sunday. I told the kids to wave to the planes and tell them we’d see them in two weeks. Gav does so and then says, “Hey dad – do people live in Oregon?” Yep, people live there. “Am I going to live there?” Yep, we all are. “For all of the days? ‘Til I am bigger than our house?” Well, buddy, we’ll try to get a house that is big enough so that when you grow, you still fit in it.

He’s starting to connect the dots. Maybe.

It’s interesting to watch the little ones navigate through this whole thing. We’re learning what’s important to them (their toys – ha! They can’t wait until things come back from storage.). As you’d expect, they have no idea how far away Oregon is from Pennsylvania – this weekend they discovered we will have to get on an airplane to see their Grams and Pops and aunts and uncles. Luckily, they think airplanes are fun and they didn’t flinch. They also think that this is normal – like something everyone can / will / wants to do. Today they asked their babysitter if she’s moving to Oregon, too. She said she’s staying here, but she’ll be sure to see them when we visit. They had already moved on to discussing Halloween costumes, so didn’t process her answer.

They like to count down to exciting things – and right now, Oregon’s at the top of the list. Today, they asked how many days until Oregon, Halloween and Christmas. So – that’s encouraging – at least Oregon is in good company: Halloween = lots of candy and Christmas = new toys.

I hope – most of all – that they adjust well and settle in quickly. I hope the novelty of being somewhere new quickly flows into – ‘hey – we have new friends here. And it’s just like home – but in a different house.’