Adjusting in time to change again

Today, William finally let us leave his classroom without him screaming. I'm not expecting it to happen again tomorrow, but I finally felt like he was adjusting to being here ... and then two weeks from today we'll be in Manila and it will all be new again. I have difficulty visioning how difficult this move is for William. Patch doesn't really have much of a long term memory, so it's not as big an issue for him (now that he's accustomed to wearing winter clothes :) ).

William's a pretty verbal kid, but I do have to remind myself he's only three and a half. Often, when he has a huge outburst, after he finally calms down enough to talk, he says what's really bothering him - usually that he's missing something in India (his trains, his toy farm house, Sarwari and Shabu) or that he's bothered by something different here (having to take a nap at school instead of home or having chapped lips and hands because of the cold). Greg and I are stressed out about big picture things (shots? house? schools?) - but the stresses for a small kid are much more accute and immediate.

Taking a cue from a foreign service parenting tip suggestion, we went for Indian food last night. The first time for Indian food since we left! William easily reverted to making little rice balls and eating with his fingers. Patch totally jammed out to the Bollywood hits (playing loudly, of course!). Both polished off their dinner. Advice from this publication I was reading hit home -- I have a lifetime of experience in the US and find the food, the sights, the smells, the sounds all comforting. The US is as foreign to William and Patch as Manila will be for all of us (unless living in a traffic-congested dusty large city actually ends up being more familiar to them). I just need to remember that though I'm comfortable and happy to be home, the boys lack that shared memory.