Does mom know best?

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I like to think that I know best when it comes to my kids. I know what the cries mean, I know what the faces mean, I know when they are tired, hungry, need to pee, etc. I had this plan to “help my child” acclimate to our new environment because I thought I “knew” that was best. I had planned to start working the beginning of February and would take the month of January to get established, play school, and do “mom” stuff; not that I knew what that was really…

We tried doing “school time” at home. That quickly ended. I am not a teacher; I don’t pretend to have the patience of a teacher. I believe teachers (the good ones anyway) should be in the running for sainthood simply because they do not strangle our children by 3pm. I mean I can barely handle the one and they deal with 20 at the same time? There would not be enough wine in the world to peel me from the rafters after a day with 20 kids. Heck come 5pm, I am cracking open the bottle. I miss Odie asking me “is it 5 already?” I think of her every time it’s time for wine simply because she was one of those people that had the ability to be so kind and patient to kids no matter what… again another candidate for sainthood.

I digress, my son quickly informed me that I “was not school.” That is when I knew I had to get him to preschool and he needed friends. On top of the fact that he would ask to go play at Chick-fil-a on a daily basis and that was not an option. I started calling all around town asking for a spot for both kids to attend daycare/preschool and thankfully there was one location that did not have a waiting list a mile long.

This morning was our first day of preschool. He was pumped! We arrive to the school, get both kids out of the car and as we are waiting for someone to unlock the door he looks at me and says “Bye mom!” “Whoa wait a minute boy! I plan on walking you in and saying goodbye.” He says “well I am just saying goodbye because I am going to school and you are going to work.” This put my heart at ease knowing he was so ready and happy. With his Star Wars lunchbox he headed off and I was able to walk away in peace. Dropping off Mia was another story… I about lost it but that’s a story for another day.

Sometimes we think we know best. We make a plan and we KNOW that is how it will go. Other times we are humbled by circumstances that show us we aren’t in control and that we need to roll with it and more times than not it all works out. God always has a plan.

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Are Southerners losing their charm?

I had left a place which claims “Smiling faces. Beautiful places.” to go to the “Land of Smiles.” Thailand lived up to their name but upon returning to the south I have found people aren’t as friendly as I remember. At the same time I am not sure if this lack of friendliness and helpfulness is a southern problem or a societal problem.

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Can you ever really go home again?   

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Yes, yes you can but it isn’t easy. Good lord it isn’t easy. Packing wasn’t so bad but saying goodbye to everything and everyone we knew and loved was heartbreaking. The night before we left, I wept like I never would have imagined. I couldn’t believe how the expat to Bangkok would forever change our lives, our opinions, our perceptions, everything really… It was by far one of the best decisions we ever made.

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