Home & Away

I think one of the things Tracy and I did quite well during the summer transition was overcommunicate with the boys about the move. We tried to make it clear that the London trip was not a vacation, it was a permanent move (even if that's not true), and that while we still had friends and family in (or near) Chicago, it wasn't home anymore. If anything, Ben got it and had never once questioned that we now live in London. Even Zach's transition was just about seamless; I believe there was one moment a couple weeks into the trip when he asked when we were going back to Chicago.

The Chicago trip was probably a setback for the kids' transition, though likely a minor one. Thankfully, the jetlag has been limited. The kids haven't been on a great schedule regardless, so with regard to sleeping, their last few days in Chicago have not been perfect but haven't been that bad either. More importantly, I question whether they're now more confused than before. Probably not, but it was certainly a challenge to explain in Chicago that even though we were back in the same house, we didn't live there anymore. It wasn't the easiest for me either - I fell asleep on the couch one night and when I woke I was totally disoriented, looking for visual shortcuts from the London home and taking more than a few seconds to latch on things I would've recognized in a heartbeat not that long ago. For what it's worth, I also looked the wrong way while crossing North Avenue and the uncoming bus seemed unconcered that I had over-conditioned myself to look right when first crossing a street lest I get clipped by a British driver. Transition, indeed.

The bromide that home is where the heart is has newfound relevance for me, but that cloying sentiment is almost too obvious and not worthy of further commentary. What's perhaps less obvious and worth further introspection is that home is also a place - a physical, unmoving place - and the lack of a singular anchor can play tricks on your mind. The debate to be had is probably over the word singular. In my odd business of itinerant souls, I get the sense that there is not consensus on this issue. Context drives questions, and I myself am in the midst of spending meaningful time in London, Chicago, St. Joseph (Michigan), Barcelona, Hong Kong, and Shanghai in less than three weeks. Upon my final return and settlement (ha!), I wonder whether much of this will continue to resonate.