ADJUSTMENT TIME

There comes a point where you wonder how your children are doing without you. My three children are still young but I am sure they miss coming to my place on alternate weeks as I am missing having them. Saffron arrived two days before I left, so there was no time to adjust to the new routine. The one after the divorce. She was shipped off to Germany whilst her siblings carried on without her. Now she has new issues at school - whether or not to put her back into second grade.

Saffron's teachers suggested my daughter to be put back into second grade immediately. That was their first option and one in which they strongly believe. I tend to think the alternate option of her getting private tutoring before classes in the morning and after school at home to be better. The school would then reassess her skills and then determine the next step.

Granted, my daughter is the youngest in her class, but it does not mean her age should dictate her class level. I was also born in August and was the youngest in my class as well. I had language working against me as I knew not one word of English on my first day of kindergarten. My daughter had the advantage of being exposed to English, German, and Croatian since birth. She might simply need a little extra time and patient assistance.

The time to adjust to something new varies from one person to another. We are all adjusting to something at some point in time as change is inevitable but also frightening. Comfort is what we crave and being taken out of our comfort zone makes us uneasy. Traveling has a way of taking us out of our normal routine and plunging us into the unknown. I attempted a return to my routine by cooking potato leek soup and baking spiced cookies tonight. It was not perfect but nothing ever is.

Adjusting to a new routine can take time but I do not believe it is any easier for children even though they are younger. Children crave consistency and as parents we strive to give them as much of it as we can, but above all children need to feel loved and safe. Unfortunately, change in family life is sometimes inevitable and we do the best we can do under the circumstances.