I was sitting in our therapist’s office this afternoon attempting to “therapize” with a 15 year old who is quite naturally and thoroughly pissed off about the upcoming move. Let’s just say that this is being expressed in a variety of ways. The earring and eyeliner we are cool with but the academic part may close off some options for him.

Like, say, all the schools at post. And most of the boarding schools on the continent.

“I am not moving! They can move if they want to. This is just a crazy idea–we are giving up a perfectly nice house and a nice life for no reason! It’s some weird fantasy they have!”

Well, really, what could I say to that? Yes, we are giving up a perfectly nice house and life. No, we don’t actually have to move–living in DC won’t make us rich, but it hasn’t wiped us out, either. We do OK.

It is probably better for my husband’s career to go overseas, but he doesn’t actually have to, since he just got back from an unaccompanied tour in 2008. In fact, we don’t ever have to go overseas again. He could retire out of the Foreign Service in DC if he wanted to. (And let’s be real here, it’s not like service in a place like Happy Meadows usually scores a lot of brownie points with promotion panels.)

And moving! Well, do I really have to say any more about that? It’s a project I feel like I’ve been working on for months already, what with selling the house and all. Since I don’t have little kids underfoot anymore, this move is not wiping me out as bad as some previous ones–yet. But then we still have four months to go. It ain’t a little thing we are doing here!

Maybe the teenager is right. Maybe we are insane.

I’d like to think we are crazy in good way. I’d like to think that 20 years from now, the same kid will be laughing about his eccentric parents who dragged him kicking and screaming all the way to Europe where he had the experience of a lifetime (and was of legal drinking age almost the minute he stepped off the plane.)

I’d really like to think that. But only time will tell. And first we have to get him to post and into at least one school!