Hotel swimming...the ultimate cure-all

So....it is real....we jumped in and made the move. We have been in India since Tuesday evening (Tuesday morning in the US). Our last week in the US was busy, fun, sad, and bittersweet. Good-byes are never easy.

By the end of the week, Rachel had shut down on saying good-bye. I wish I had the words to help her through this transition. With this move, she is almost seven. Not sure if it is her age, the fact that we are starting another move in just under a year, or what. So much seems to be running around in her head, and she doesn't seem to be able to able to talk about it. I am not even sure if she knows what all the different emotions are. She just knows that she is feeling off-balance and out of sorts. I have always been (and am still) very thankful that Rachel is such an easily adaptable and laid back child. Can't even imagine what she would be like right now if she weren't. The first night after checking in she broke down and cried on Daddy's shoulder for almost 20 minutes. It was a mix of tiredness and reality kicking in. Dan always seems to know what to say to her and get her to open up. By the grace of God, we got our Indian visas in time to travel with Dan. Not sure how Rachel would have done without the stability of having her daddy around. Since then, she has had ups and downs. Wednesday went well. Thursday she didn't want to leave the hotel room at all. The only thing she has looked forward to is swimming. Hotel swimming is the ultimate cure-all. Every day after we swim Rachel seems so much happier and back to her normal self. I know that she will find her groove and bounce back. It is just difficult watching my happy-go-lucky little girl flounder.

Rebekah, on the other hand, is really surprising me. I thought she would be the one crying for her home. On the way to the airport, she was sobbing for "Sassy." Sassy was our van. The girls named her when they saw the picture on the Toyota website before they even saw her. Come on....if she was sobbing for a van, what is going to happen when she isn't sleeping in her own bed? Surprise, surprise Rebekah is doing well. The first night she asked where her bed was. Since then, nothing really. She is enjoying living in this small hotel apartment. She likes sharing a bed with Rachel. She, of course, L-O-V-Es swimming in the hotel pool. She does keep asking when we will get to India. Hmmmm....maybe she is doing so well because she has no idea where she is.