Change

Moving away from the only home Jack has ever known, and the only friends he has ever had has provided our family with a lot of teaching moments. I am trying to teach Jack that even though it hurts to be away from our family and friends, that feeling also makes us the luckiest people on earth because it means that there are people in this world that we love so very deeply and who love us just the same.

Jack can communicate so well that it's easy for me to forget that he's only two. So although he may be able to tell me that his heart hurts, or he feels bad inside and wants to hold my hand, but he doesn't know how to fix it. Even worse, he doesn't know why I don't know how to fix it for him. I'm twenty-six years older then him and just a few days ago when Maryanne called to ask me for directions to our tailor I burst into tears on the phone and had to sob out directions through my apologies. If just hearing a voice from home could reduce me to tears (and I understand why we had to move) then how must it feel to be two and stripped of all of the things that helped you understand and process the world around you.

So as Jack has been struggling these last few weeks, I have had to remind myself that he's struggling because he is trying to re-figure out who he is. Today he is Jack, who lives far from his Adda and Poppi, doesn't get to play with Zoe, Ben, Connor or Julia anymore, lives in San Diego ("off of Camino Del Norte" as he tells passer-byers), loves cars and is learning how to make new friends and not tackle people. And I am Ana, Zack's wife, Jack's mother, work from homer, doesn't get to play with Maryanne, Becky, Kim, Sherry, Carol and Jessica anymore, lives in San Diego and is learning how to make new friends and not tackle people.

Change is hard. But we take our memories of all we left behind with us. Always.