Farewell to Knoxville: Making the Most of a Move with Kids

Have you ever found yourself at a crossroads? Not literally, but figurative speaking in life. My husband and I were there two months ago, and still kinda are now. We were looking at choosing between the “safe” option of staying where we were, with family and friends that we have grown to love here in Knoxville, or going down this unknown path, that will probably have some ups and downs, but in the end we feel will be good for our little family. In the end, we chose the unknown path!

What this has meant for us is packing up our little family and heading 8 hours north, away from all our friends and family. When we first started talking about the move, it was all exciting. We spoke of the new things we could see and do, but as the time got closer, the “real” stuff started to hit home. We have to find new schools, new doctors, new grocery stores, and not to mention I know NO ONE there.

We are only a few weeks into this big transition, but for anyone else who already finds themselves in or is about to be in a similar situation, I want leave you with a few things I’ve learned so far, especially when it comes to your kids.

1. They don’t think like adults
When you talk about moving, you think about best city to live in or school district to be in, but what your kids really want to know is whether they can bring their stuff with them. For example, when we told our daughter about moving, she wanted to make sure she could bring her bed; it’s the little things to them that mean so much. Try to see it from their perspective.

2. Give them grace
Our house was turned upside down while we were trying to pack and do updates to the house, and for anyone who has a routine for their kids this is REALLY hard. Give them grace when they act out. Give them hugs, and encouraging words, and let them know you understand it’s not easy right now.

3. They have friends too
Just because they’re little doesn’t mean they’ll just forget about their friends and move on. I won’t forget when I was driving and S started telling me that she didn’t want to make a new best friend; she already had one and didn’t want another. All I could say was that I agreed; mommy has best friends too and I don’t want to have to make new ones either, but we might be able to make some new friends still. They have formed bonds and they will miss them too, so plan time for them to get together. And when you get to your new city, let them call their friends (it’s way easier to stay I touch now, so use it!!)

4. Make the best if it
As sad as you may be (or as I was) about moving, don’t let the kids see all of that. We are the ones who make things better; we’re the shining star at night, they look to us, so we need to try and see the positive. The morning we headed out, I had to go get S from bed because we she didn’t want to get up. I asked why and she said she didn’t want to move (as a mom, that will break your heart). So with some hugs, we sat and talked about it. I told her part of me didn’t want to go either, but part of me did so that we could start this new adventure. As much as I would have loved to stay around longer, I knew we had to leave and I was going to have to make this okay for her. She agreed and on we went!

I won’t say everything is perfect, but we are making to most of it. We have days of unpacking and days of exploring. We’ve had pajama days and movies in the middle of the afternoon days (because we found the box with all the DVDs). We’re slowly finding our way around and starting to meet some new people. I’m still trying to keep all these tips I mentioned in mind because this is going to be an ongoing process as we all make adjustments (myself included) to our new life and new city.

With that being said, this will be my last post with the Knoxville Moms Blog since I no longer live in Knoxville (unless Natalie lets me be a guest writer from here in DC). To all the Knoxville Moms Blog readers, thank you for making this blog what it is! You help make Knoxville an awesome city and have some of the best moms out there.

Natalie, you have given the moms of Knoxville such a unique and wonderful gift, and I’ll miss being a part of it. To all the fellow writers, I have loved getting to know you all and have learned so much from you all. I look forward to following you while I’m here and please come visit me!