Re-Entry: Logistics

We are home in Oregon.  We are a family of five.  Life is crazy.  I am going to try and write a real blog post about how we are doing, but meanwhile here are some logistical things in case people are curious.

America is overwhelming, and we're trying to make the culture shock easier on the girls... and re-entry easier on the rest of us. There's a lot we can't limit or control -- like the feel of cold air on their skin, and being surrounded by the blunt yet mumbly sound of American English -- so we're trying to do what we can with the environment.

Right now we're mostly staying around the house, although we can't resist the beautiful outdoors.  I think that new places are the most stressful, especially since houses and stores look nothing like what they do in Uganda.  So we're starting out by staying at home, so they can at least gain comfort and confidence and belonging in one place.

I think relationships are easier, because people are a lot like people.  We have had a number of people come over and visit, and all the children warm up and become enthusiastic pretty quickly.  I think they are happy to feel like they have friends.  If you want to meet us, I'd love to see you, but at this point I am asking everyone to go out of their way to come here; sorry!  I think it will also help the kids to feel like they have friends and connections already when we go out to busier places.  So if you're from our church or school or something like that, please stop by to help us take baby steps to feel like we belong to those places!

The older two are starting school on Monday.  They visited their classes on Friday, and we're jumping right in with the new week.  They are both going to the Eugene Waldorf School, which is where Emerson has been attending for the two years before we left.  Emerson will return to his same mixed-age kindergarten class, and Hibiscus will be in first grade.  Emerson will attend three mornings a week, and first grade is five mornings a week.  We've been in communication with the teachers during our absence, and we are feeling confident and relieved that this will be a good environment for both children.  They will be held with great love, but also with a firm and clear routine and structure.  We know that it's asking a lot of them in some ways to jump back into school only a few days after getting home, but we believe that they will be much happier and more confident once they get into their routine.  Also, that way each child will have his or her own space, and own friendship and own projects.

When the older children are at school, Buttercup and I will probably do a few things.  She is acclimating much more smoothly than anyone else in the family, so I need to be careful to not take advantage of her easy-going nature and give her more than she can handle.  We'll probably do the playgroup at church, and wait a few weeks to see if we want to add another playgroup or something else.

Probably the next thing that we will add to our routine is going to church.  I suspect it's going to be a couple of weeks, though.  I don't think we'll be able to go until the kids are willing to go to Sunday School, because we already have ample evidence that they can't make it through a church service!  But maybe we'll end up only staying for a few minutes the first week, and building up.... we'll see.

They are all very excited to add some classes and other events, which is something that I've been really missing in Uganda, but I think that will take a little while.  We might start with swim lessons at the Y, because that's fairly inexpensive (so not too big a deal if we miss some), and all three kids could go at the same time.  I also want to get back to gymnastics, since we know the people and the routine there, because I think that would suit all three kids' interests and needs.  It might be a little while, though.

Right now I am estimating that it will be about a month before we venture much beyond school and maybe church.  I think if we end up having a "welcome home" kind of party, it won't be until at least summer time, or it will just be too overwhelming.  The children have changed and grown so much in the last six months together in Uganda, I have faith that there will be a lot more growing and changing in the next six months!