"Don't worry, kids rebound fast!"

I have always been told, “Don’t worry, kids rebound quickly!”  I have learned this isn’t always the case.  My husband and I recently moved our family from a small town where my daughter was born and lived for almost two years, to our home town; which is larger and largely unfamiliar to our daughter.  We felt that the job offer my husband received and the proximity to family and long-time friends outweighed any other negatives to moving. 

When we first moved, we stayed with family for a while in order to get stabilized.  My daughter did well adjusting and we felt that we had made the right decision.  When the time came to purchase and move into our own home (thank goodness!), you would have thought that we had moved to Mars!  She said she didn’t like her new house.  She quit sleeping at night. She quit eating. She started throwing fits, and her food!   I thought we were in HELL!!

We have been living in our house for a little more than two weeks now.  She is back to sleeping and sometimes eating.  However, she still asks to go home on a regular basis.  We haven’t yet convinced her that she is, in fact, home.  The Christmas holidays have helped.  She loves ‘Merry Christmas’ and enjoys the lights and decorations that come with it.  Having family around helped, I think.  (you can just never be sure).  The fact that my niece and nephews attend the same sitter as my daughter was a big plus because she always knew where she was going and who would be there.  I am sure any sitter would have provided such structure, but since she already knew half the kids, I am sure it was a bonus. 

I think now I am the one with adjustment issues.  I loved where I was living until things began going sour at work.  I walked away easily from the home that I brought my daughter home to.  I guess that I just believed everything would work out.  I am not sure if that was naive or stupid.  Things have been hard; a strain on myself, my husband, our relationship, our family, everything.  I just want a break from worrying and stress.  I would like to enjoy my daughter at this age rather than constantly have other things on my mind.  I guess that is the burden of a parent and adult, though.  No rest for the weary!