When we first decided to move to London we thought we better tell Madeline first, let her freak out about it, then calm down, and then we’d tell Jason about it and he’d look to Madeline to figure out how he should react.
So we told Madeline and she got a big smile on her face when we told her all the countries and places in Europe we would be able to visit. A little while later in our conversation it came out that she wouldn’t be going to her old school anymore. That hadn’t occurred to her at first and as soon as she realized that she burst into tears. Once she calmed down, took a few deep breaths, and a couple of hugs later, she said:
Will … wi … wi … will I still have recess?
Yes, that’s what 8 year olds worry about when you uproot them and move them to a foreign country with zero warning.
Jason took it well but it’s hard to figure out whether he really gets it. He has a great, huge kindergarten class with lots of friends and it’s tough to leave that behind, frankly. So anyway it’s hard to tell how Jason is doing, but the night after the two big parties at our house last Friday, Jason was completely sleep deprived from two super late nights. So he woke up in the middle of one of the nights and started flinging things off his bed: sheets, pillows, stuffed animals, etc. I knew he was sleep deprived but I thought something else was going on so I started asking him about things and I asked him about London, which I think was fresh in his mind as he had just spent the past two days saying goodbye to his classmates and his cousins. Anyway, in the middle of our chat this is what he said:
I DON’T WANT TO GET AN ENGLISH ACCENT!!!
and then started crying the most heart-felt sobs. Hahaha. You just gotta love it. While I assume that’s not his only concern heading out into the great unknown, I think it is up there. He’s obviously overheard us talking about how he will end up with an accent, and he’s afraid people will laugh at him or something. Anyway, I told him, “It’s up to you if you get an English accent.” Once I said that he got that relieved smile laugh that he usually gets when he’s so tired and so happy to see his pillow. I guess that makes me a liar but … it was the middle of the night and I was trying to get back to sleep asap.
about getting an accent here’s my forecast, on how the Payne family will speak in 3 months:
Jason: “Mummy!”
Madeline: “Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus!”
Sue: “I’m not amused”
Jonathan:”Nice cheese, Gromit”