The last few months have been filled with transitions… Transitions for our whole family, but though they’ve been big for us, they’ve been HUGE for Gracen. First, we packed up our home in Vancouver and moved out. Then we moved in with her grandparents where we completely redid her bedroom twice and got rid of the bed she’s always had there to replace it with a different one. Then, after getting settled in nicely, we embarked on a more than 30 hour journey to the Middle East during which she slept a total of five hours. When we arrived here in Kuwait, she found herself in a new home {which was no longer a house, but an apartment} with a new room, a new bed, and the bare minimum as far as ‘stuff’ is concerned. On top of all of that, upon our arrival, she had to make the transition of switching her days and nights. And you know what? Our little lady has done phenomenally well. She’s a trooper, I tell you. She’s adjusted well, made all sorts of new {old} friends, and seems truly and genuinely happy here.
The only thing I’d say has been challenging now that all of the transitions are said and done, is the fact that we seem to have lost some of her independence somewhere along the way. Don’t get me wrong – when it comes to picking her clothes or putting on her shoes or choosing a snack, she’s still very independent. But when it comes to playing independently, something we’d worked really hard on in Vancouver, I can see we’ve back tracked quite a ways. Back home, we’d fallen into a wonderful routine that allowed me to shower and pee and do dishes without having a munchkin under my feet. She’d often choose to play independently in her room or read independently in her book nook, and it was wonderful. We’d even started letting her play outside in the {fully fenced} backyard all by herself sometimes! But here? Not so much.
Our apartment here in Kuwait is huge. Much, much bigger than our house in Vancouver was, and I guess I expected her to make use of all of the space when I had something I needed to do. Not the case. It’s okay and I know we’ll get back to where we were, but for now, if I run to the washroom to grab a tissue, pop into the laundry room to deposit a dirty cloth, or head into the kitchen to get a glass of water, I have a little shadow following right behind me. Always.
