You've all been concerned about Terran and his reaction to this move - and rightfully so.
We kept him in the loop for most of this decision making process, as we felt that him being 14 kind of justified his knowledge of the whole situation.
We have experienced a wide range of emotions throughout and we are hoping to respect his feelings by encouraging him to TALK and talk often.
His first concern was the internet -- wondering whether he'd have access to it. His only knowledge of internet overseas is from visiting mom in Kenya as he got very accustomed to internet cafes.
His second issue was sports. He loves his lacrosse and football teams and was quite disappointed to find out that there is no American football, and as far as we can tell, no lacrosse.
Obviously, he is very torn by the realization that he has to leave his friends. He has built an incredibly SOLID group of GOOD friends here. Boys and girls alike who are very balanced kids, great for him to be around and children that we trust him being with.
Finally, he brought up the issue of beef. Poor thing is going to have to give that up. Not sure what to tell him on that situation!
We want the lines of communication to be open at all times ... we are trying desperately to let him know that we too are feeling a huge variety of emotions, and that its ok to be mad about this for awhile.
We also know that he might not realize the true potential of this adventure until he is well into his adulthood years. That's ok with us.
We know that he may learn to love track (since he always has chosen lacrosse over track) and just might really like rugby. Of course, there's nothing that says that his resourceful mama can't start a small lacrosse club, right?
We also know that in time, he will make new friends ... and with a decent internet connection ... can keep up with all of his gang from back home. No, it won't be the same, but it will be sufficient.
We have a long ways to go with him before he is "ok" with this move. We let him tell his friends via Facebook last night, and while I won't violate his privacy by posting their conversation here, I truly think it helped him -- to just be able to talk it through, get his friends' reactions and vent a bit.
This will most likely be the hardest on him ... shoot, right now in his life it is a huge drama/trauma when I tell him he can't have his 3rd Monster drink for the day, and there is eye-rolling and foot stomping just because I ask him to clean his room.
He has such a big change going on, simply because he's 14 and in 8th grade, not to mention throwing in a move to India!
