The family has been in Hudson, OH for 3 months now and it feels like we are finally getting settled. Hudson is truly an amazing town. I can't say enough good about it. So much so that it feels a little like Whoville or Mayberry - magical places that are almost too good to be true where people are genuinely nice to each other and care about the beauty and function of the town.
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| Main street Hudson, OH |
This picture of downtown Hudson is an example of the thought and care that goes into town planning. The downtown area is beautiful and even minor details are thought through to bring out the small town charm.
On our very first day in our house three 10-11 year old boys showed up on their bikes to introduce themselves to Mikey. An hour or so later a 13-year old boy stopped by to introduce himself to Jameson. In New England I think it would be much more likely that parents would tell their kids they can not stop by the new kid's house until they have met the family because they are strangers and, well, STRANGER DANGER!!!
11+ years ago when we moved to Brookline we did it because of the schools. We knew the taxes were high and that it was pretty far from everything (other than Kyle's job at the time) but the schools were considered among the best in the area. For the most part we felt the schools lived up to their reputation. Not perfect and certainly there were administrators with whom I butted heads, but I truly loved most of the teachers. HB is also struggling with funding issues as many districts are. I know people blame Common Core and special education, but Hudson deals with the same Common Core struggles and people with special needs children actually move to Hudson for better services (the system has three handicapped busses to accommodate the students with mobility needs!).
I'm not buying the arguments! Beginning now, Hudson schools are the standard by which I measure all other schools. I can't believe how great the schools are. The school goes so far above and beyond the standard curriculum offering multiple foreign languages, multiple music offerings, swimming, life skills labs and even has a gifted and talented program plus too many more to keep listing. When we arrived on our very first day the kids were so nervous about school the guidance counselors found students to take them on tours, answer their questions and to act as mentors. In contrast, when Jameson started at CSDA in Brookline the teacher didn't even know he was a new student and the school watched him struggle even after repeated calls from me asking for help. At the time it felt as though the CSDA administrators went out of their way to ignore the issue and make things difficult. Hudson has gone out of their way to help and guide the kids while also letting them assimilate and figure things out to gain confidence in their surroundings. I realize we are only 3 months in but so far I couldn't be happier with the schools and I can't imagine being anywhere else.
Of course I realize that I am making it sound like life is perfect in Hudson. It is not! My kids are still my kids...they forget their homework and take way too long to get ready for school and generally drive me crazy every chance they get! Why can't kids ever find their shoes?!?!
It has also been a very cold winter. I'm not complaining because we could still be in New England and have 100+ inches of snow! Wait...we still have a house in NH with many inches of snow on the roof. But thanks to my amazing Pope Rd. neighbors I know the house is still standing and that the roof has not collapsed! I miss my neighbors so much! I wish I could have brought them to OH with me. I am pretty sure our OH neighbors are great too. I have met a few of them and many of the kids and so far everyone is friendly and fun. But they aren't our NH neighbors!
Back to the cold...The cold has actually made me wish for my life back in India where the weather was near perfect and anytime I got overly frustrated with the craziness of life there we could pack up and go to some exotic location. I knew leaving India would mean leaving my ability to travel often and since we are still trying to sell our NH house Kyle and I sort of agreed that we would not spend money on travel (by that I mean he said we wouldn't travel and I quietly stewed about it) . So... I tried very hard not to bother Kyle about taking a vacation for spring break this year. He probably remembers this differently - he remembers that I casually but often mentioned how nice it would be to go to a beach somewhere - but the reality is I was very restrained for me! Somehow I did wear him down and he booked a trip to Aruba for the kids' spring break week which happens to coincide with our 18th wedding anniversary. And truly if we want to make it to 19 years I think a vacation is required after the craziness of the past 2 years. We made it through an international move only to uproot the kids (and me) again to a place where we knew absolutely no one and we have survived. I guess the past 2 years has really helped all of us learn adaptability and flexibility and at the same time allowed us to recognize that we sometimes need to take a vacation for our sanity. Vacation could mean going to the hotel down the road to swim in the heated pool, or, if you are lucky enough, it means hopping on a plane to Aruba for a week. Either way a vacation is a nice break from reality even if reality is a bit like Mayberry!
