Today we are taking Piper to Denver where she will meet up with Uncle Troy so he can accompany her on her flight back to Michigan for Christmas. This is the first Christmas I wont see her at all. Its hard for all of us but we are getting more used to it.
Piper is not acting out like she did for the Thanksgiving trip....she isnt having fits all the time and she actually said she is looking forward to spending sometime up there. Some people ask me if that makes me upset, that she is looking forward to her time in Michigan with her dad and step-mom. My question is why would it? I guess I can see where they would be coming from, they think that I want her to be miserable when she goes so she will stop wanting to go. my answer to that is what kind of a mom would I be if I wanted my daughter to be miserable at anytime in her life? I dont think that would make me a very good person if that is what I hoped for.
Instead, I hope she has fantastic time! I really do. If she cant be with me, which she cant, then that isnt going to stop me from wanting her to have the best time possible with the rest of her family.
This is the way it is....its part of the outcome from the decisions that were made to move, which I do not regret at all. The life she has in Lansing with her dad and step-mom is not a life for me. I lived in the city, I did the mall thing, the traffic thing, the constant noise, sirens, crime, locking of doors, barking animals, obnoxious neighbors...been there, done that and it isnt for us. That doenst mean that it is bad or wrong. It just isnt the life that Shawn and I want to live. On the flip side, her dad wouldnt be happy where we are living now....with the closest neighbors 2 miles away, more cattle then people in town, the closest mall 90 minutes away, the closest town 45 minutes away. The only noise I hear at night at the cows mooing and the coyotes yipping. That isnt a life that he would be comfortable with, however I wouldnt trade it for anything.
My point is that Piper is extrememly loved by 2 very different people. Instead of looking at it like "oh my, she has to go to the city and be around the crowds and traffic and noise", I choose to see it as her having the rare opportunity to experience 2 completely different lifestyles. She is a city kid in the summer and a ranch kid in the school year. She can hit up the mall in July and ride her horse in March. When she starts to look at schools for college, should she want to attend a big school, she wont have the culture shock that so many small town kids experience when moving to a large city for the first time. She will have that experience already.
Piper is an incredibly resilient child and while it is hard for her to leave us, the most traumatic part is just that, the leaving. When she gets to Michigan, she is fine. She has a great time, she enjoys being around her family and friends. I also know that it is hard for her to leave Michigan and come home but once she gets here, she tells me she never wants to leave again.
She is 7 years old and has alot to deal with but she is doing it. And she is doing great. She is thriving in school, has a ton of friends, is outside playing more then ever before. She loves to chase her dogs, she LIVES to ride her horse, she enjoys helping Shawn feed or cake the cows. She is a great kid, who has her moments but they are just that...moments. Each moment results in the creation of a memory and her memory will be full of experiences in Nebraska and Michigan. Its hard now, but it gets easier each time. She is lucky...so many kids dont ever get out of their hometowns while she has 2 homes that will result in double the memories!!
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