As I type this, the clock is ticking down the last day of this month. When we hit May (like in a few minutes), the changes will be fast and furious for our little family.

We decided to put the kids in the Embassy day care for our last month here. I’ve held out for almost 3 years, relying on our wonderful part-time nanny, the preschool co-op I started with friends, copious playdates and just actually spending time with them myself. But now, the many closets and drawers in this house and their possibly unnecessary contents are beckoning me, so I’m taking this next month to downsize and organize. The kids will be happily entertained and I will have some time to get my act together.

So, we’re moving. And I’ve realized that as a communication major, I’ve done a terrible job of communicating about what our future holds. Part of the reason for that is not actually knowing, and part of it is that for now, this blog isn’t high on the list of things that gets my time and attention. (Sorry. Really. It’s not always going to be this way!)

We are moving to (drum roll) Arlington, Virginia! I can spill more when the ink is dry, but it looks like we’re going to rent a townhouse in a neighborhood there we know and love, not far from some of our favorite people. There are not enough exclamation points in the world to express how I feel about this provision.

So, with that as a known (finally), I can start to get Ayla prepared for the Kindergarten (Kindergarten!!!) she’ll be going to and think of the fun I can have with Judson while she’s at school.

But before I get too far down that road, I still have loads to focus on here. The biggest challenge is to be present for my people here. I need to be here for my kids, who need their mom to still be in the moment with them, who don’t quite understand future tense but absolutely feel the tension and stress of upcoming changes without being able to articulate it. I need to be here for my friends, some of who are leaving with me and others whom I will sadly leave here. I know I won’t get these days with them back and I don’t want to wish them away.

I have the Semisonic lyric in my head as I type, “Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.”

I’m interested in how you’ve ended a chapter in your life well (or not well). Advise me, friends. How do you balance planning for the near future and staying present in the now?