Transitioning

I expect I will be writing a lot on this subject over the next few months.
It is so interesting to see my children working through the transition of leaving and returning to the UK.  I am seeing things I have previously read about TCKs being acted out in front of me!
Rose surprised us (although, really, I don't know why we were surprised as it is perfectly in character) when we discovered she had already organised a classmate to look after her guinea pig next year.  We discovered this when the classmate's mother came to say they were happy to have Floss next year!  Classic case of making sure your important things are taken care of when you leave.
Naomi announced to me that she wants to have her birthday here next year. I said, "You can't, we'll be in England."
Naomi yelled, "No.  I want to invite Caroline to my party!"
"Sorry.  We will not be here."
Actually, the ironic thing is, Naomi's friend is "returning" to Germany at the end of the school year and will not be coming back to the Philippines. Her parents have been here 20 years.  They came out as singles with their mission, got married, had their family of 4 children here.  It is the end of an era for them and a major upheaval for their family who have never spent more than 6 months in Germany.
Rose also decided, as part of our preparing to be in England that we could only speak English English (as opposed to American English) in our house now.  As you know, this has been a losing battle for me and Steve and I looked at each other and laughed.  I told her it would probably be impossible as there are some words they only know the American terminology for and Steve told her their American accents would undermine their attempts to speak English.
It showed me, though, that she is beginning to think through some of the bigger issues facing us.