Leaving

 Today we depart the Pacific Northwest to pursue what will be our second year with the Lower Yukon School District.  There are many (many) more tears this time around, as I am not solely focused on re-uniting my boys with their father and myself with my husband, as I was last time we left, in January.  

 This morning as we were packing, me listening to Sugarland sing "Stay" & crying until my chest ached, and Josh calling the airlines to see if guns & ammo can travel together in one case, I felt an underlying sense of calm that I think comes from having done all this before.  

 This will be our third time traveling with all three boys, and I know the ins and outs of travel with children.  I know what the airlines will check for free (playpen, stroller, carseats, life jackets) and what NOT to bring through security (the baby in the Ergo, water in any container, nail clippers).  

 As we stood on our respective sides of the bed, packing our luggage (his blue, mine pink) he said, "Well, I am happy that you are coming with me this time when I go."  This time last year he had already been in Alaska nearly a week, and I was home with the twins and our brand-new baby.

 We are both so sad to say good-bye to summer; good-bye to friends; good-bye to family.  

 This has been a wonderful time (minus the shots, dental work and Hand, Foot & Mouth disease, of course) and we are so grateful to have made so many memories with loved ones.

 We do not have internet yet at the house in Marshall, so you may not hear from me again for a while.  But as soon as it is up and running, I promise to get back into the swing of blogging. Oh, how I have missed it!

 Meanwhile, I hope these pictures to get you through to the next post.

 "All changes are more or less tinged with melancholy,
for what we are leaving behind is part of ourselves."

-Amelia Barr

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