Mixed Feelings About Moving

My teens are looking forward to moving--they love Florida and are excited about all of the things they want to do there. BUT--they will definitely miss their friends here and they will miss many things about their lives here that won't be available to them once we move. These mixed feelings have caused them to be kind of wishy-washy when discussing the upcoming move. One day, they will beg us to hurry up and move because they want to do something specific and hate waiting to do it. The next day, they will ask us if we can wait a few more months because something is coming up here that they don't want to miss. I know moving isn't easy on anyone--especially teenagers. We moved a few times when they were younger, but this will be the first move with teens. Luckily, all of our moves have been positive experiences for them--they gained access to things they did not have in their previous homes. Sometimes they missed a few things about their old lives, but they usually jumped right into their new lives and enjoyed them immensely. This move should be another positive experience--they really are excited about the many things they want to do in Florida that they cannot do here. I guess it is just that they have deeper roots here than they ever have before. Still, we have discussed the future and they realize that they will probably be leaving Florida in a few years for lives of their own. Neither of them plan to return here in the future--college plans and other future plans are not aimed here. We have a few family members here--but they moved here after we did and they talk about moving to Florida in the future. No one is permanently settled in any one place. My son is currently making his plans for the future--he will do WHAT he wants and go WHERE he wants regardless of what his friends here are planning to do. In other words, he will have to leave these friends in the near future anyway because they don't seem to be headed in the same direction for college/military/etc. I am glad that he is setting his sights on individual goals and is not just following the crowd and going to the local college or getting a job in a local industry. Not that there is anything wrong with that--I just know what he wants to do, and it requires moving to a different place. So, in a sense, he will be experiencing that "leave home and leave friends behind" stage that graduating seniors experience, but he is doing it a bit early. I remember those feelings at graduation--there are many people that I hugged that day and never saw them again. It is part of growing up. My son did not want to stay here and go to high school here--he wanted to do all four years of high school in Florida--then he plans on moving again as he pursues his future plans. So, I know that his mixed feelings are completely normal "growing pains" that he will have to experience as he moves on to adulthood. He will feel this way as he leaves here to move to Florida, he will feel this way again as he leaves high school and moves on to the next stage in life, and he will feel this way several times as he moves/changes jobs/builds relationships in the future. My daughter will also go through these stages and mixed feelings--she already has expressed both excitement and sadness about moving. One minute, she is ready to go--the next, she wants to wait. Life is about change--if we don't change, we don't grow. Still, change isn't always easy--there can be pain and sadness during the transition phase. So, as their mother, I will acknowlege their feelings, both good and bad--and I will do whatever I can to help them make this change. I will listen to them as they express sadness about moving, and I will encourage them as they express excitement about their new lives. It's the "ying and yang" of life! :)