Sometimes there are things you HAVE to do
Having played some part in creating two children I feel I owe it to them to be around and support them until I'm no longer needed. I am currently (probably over-) planning a trip we will undertake as a couple when our youngest leaves school.
We have thought about HS on the road, but both Mrs MarkE and I know a few forces brats and their experience meant we wanted our children to have a stable home life when they were young. Among those we know (perhaps not a representative sample) there are a lot of people who suffered from too many moves too young. Their schooling (in terms of exams passed) may not have been harmed, but some do show scars from not having had the chance to forge real friendships in schools. In these cases they were moved before they settled and made those friendships. We may be jumping to a false conclusion, but these are my children we're talking about here, and I'm not prepared to gamble.
In the meantime, both Mrs MarkE and I have made a few shorter trips, together and solo; grandparents are wonderful, then when the kids are older sleepovers are good; being such wonderfully well brought up kids (ahem) they were as reliable as any teenager, which meant we could leave them overnight sometimes. The elder has now left for university and, last time we left her sister alone we came back to find the house still standing after five days (far more sensible than her father then). I've got two more sets of exams to hold her hand through, then she too will leave, and we can take off for a few months trip.
|