    Moving

    Summary: Sky is a semi-typical seven-year-old. He is kind of shy, likes
    school, and boy things. He is pretty stable with a mom and dad who
    understand his insecurities, but reassignment threatens to destroy
    Sky's life.

    With school fast approaching, Sky Whitman thought back to last year. He
    was so excited to head to kindergarten. His cousins were all school
    aged and told him how great it was. New friends, toys, and lots of
    activities. Best of all, he could come home right afterwards. This year
    was a bit different. He was going to be in the first grade. That
    territory was unknown. In a few short weeks he would be going to school
    all day and coming home a lot later than when he was in kindergarten.

    Sky was a bit worried. He still took naps and got tired out, but it
    couldn't really be helped. He put all of his effort into everything and
    drained himself so much that he was exhausted by lunchtime. He also had
    a few embarrassing secrets. The worst one was that every time he fell
    asleep, Sky would wet his pants. He was seven years old and a bed
    wetter. Although Sky knew he was perfectly normal and that his
    bedwetting was no big deal, it was still embarrassing if it happened in
    front of peers.

    Another of his secrets was that he still sucked his thumb. Whenever Sky
    was unsure of something he gently placed his thumb in his mouth and
    relaxed. If he was tired, his thumb was there, if he was sick, sad,
    bored, or missing his mommy he always had his thumb, but what would
    they say at school? He knew he could just hide this. Sky also knew that
    no one would ever find out about blankie.

    Other than his few worries, Sky was excited to go to school. Until his
    father announced his reassignment. Sky's grandpa had been on active
    duty in the military for as long as he could remember. His son, Sky's
    father, Mike, felt the need to defend his country and joined the
    military in the early 90's. Being young parents was hard enough, but
    they survived well enough. Sky's mother, Emily, worked in the local
    offices.

    "Honey, oh honey I have wonderful news!" Mike exclaimed, "I've been
    reassigned. You know how you always wanted to see Europe? Well, we're
    moving to England!"

    "WHAT!" Emily exclaimed. "You have got to be kidding me. OH honey I'm
    so excited. When do we leave?"

    "Three days from now," was the reply. Emily naturally went into fits of
    hysteria about how they would sell their house, pack their stuff, and
    get to England in three days.

    "Oh, there's better news for you too!" Ever since Mike joined the
    military, they had bought, sold, packed, unpacked, and repacked more
    houses than they could count.

    "MY offices said I could keep the house. Since they badly need people
    at the base to sort out supplies and keep records and this is so
    rushed, they are giving us a fully furnished house. Sky can attend a
    private school and you can finish off your degree if you wish or you
    can choose whichever line of work you like, honey!"

    "Oh this is wonderful, what are we going to tell Sky?" Emily was a bit
    concerned. Sky was used to the moves, but still had a hard time
    adjusting. This was going to be a major culture shock for him.

    Sky had just gotten ready for bed. He was curled up on his bed,
    clutching blankie tightly, with his thumb planted firmly in his mouth.
    He closed his eyes and thought about how great his life was. He had a
    few friends and loved his room.

    "Skylar, sweetie are you awake?"

    "Yes mommy" Sky sat up and began to suck his thumb harder. He was
    really sleepy and was feeling kind of cranky.

    "Sweetie, daddy has been reassigned. We are moving to England in three
    days" With this Skylar began to suck even harder. He lay back down and
    buried his face into his blankie. The familiar smell and his thumb made
    him feel a bit better, but his efforts at fighting back tears were
    diminishing. "We get to keep our house and your room will still be
    here. Don't worry, we'll come back here often to visit grandma and your
    cousins. I know this is hard, but we have to go. Can you help mommy out
    by picking the things you want to bring to your new room?" Sky sat up
    and crawled into his mom's lap. The tears started to flood down his
    cheeks. For a long time, his mom rocked him until he fell asleep.

    Throughout the night Sky dreamt of what his new school was going to be
    like. He saw older boys laughing at him for not knowing as much as they
    did. They laughed at him for being small and they poked him and pulled
    his thumb out of his mouth when he tried to comfort himself. In his
    dream, Sky ran away and hid in a corner. He cried and cried, but no one
    came to help him. His mommy was far away and couldn't hear him. His
    cries turned into screams and his body felt as if it were raining in
    his corner.

    Sky woke up screaming and shrieking. He yelled and cried for mommy and
    daddy.

    "Sky, sweetie, what's the matter." asked Daddy. He sounded really
    worried and ran into the room without even flicking on the light. He
    reached over to his 7-year-old son and as soon as he touched his baby
    soft skin, it felt as though he was putting his hand on ice.

    "Sky, sweetie. You're so cold." He reached further and found that
    almost every inch of his pajamas were soaking. Sky just sat there and
    cried. He was so scared that he kept frantically crying. He was so
    disorientated that he couldn't bring his thumb to his mouth to calm
    down. Sky's dad quickly removed his soaked pajamas. He got out the baby
    wipes in the closet along with some new pajamas.

    This wasn't the first time Sky had wet the bed. It happened every
    night. The usual morning routine was Sky's responsibility. He would
    strip off his wet pj's, pull off the sheets, send them down the laundry
    shoot, and then get into the warm bath his mother had drawn. He would
    then put on his school clothes, grab blankie, and go down for
    breakfast. THis night was a bit different. Never in the 7 yrs. Sky had
    been alive had he ever shrieked and cried so much. He'd sounded like he
    was in terrible pain and the fact that he was ice cold scared Mike.
    After changing the sheets on his son's bed, Mike went to wake Emily.

    "Sweetie, Sky had a nightmare. He was screaming and soaked from head to
    toe. I've got him cleaned up, but he is shivering like crazy. I think
    he's sick."

    Emily jumped out of bed as fast as she could and got the thermometer.
    She and Mike hurried to Sky's room.

    "Do you not feel well sweetie?" Emily asked a completely naked Sky.

    "He nodded sleepily and continued to shiver." Emily took his
    temperature and found it to be a little low. Sky continued to cry and
    shake. He wanted blankie, but couldn't find it. Sky calmed down a bit
    and placed his thumb in his mouth. Emily dug in her son's closet and
    found a spare package. She had kept some of the diapers from when Sky
    was six. They had decided to take him out of nighttime diapers since
    they felt he was ready to handle the decision himself. The diapers were
    kept around for emergencies like this.

    Sky knew what was coming and didn't protest. He didn't mind diapers and
    like the extra comfort when he was sick. He also knew that diapers
    meant he would be warm and dry in the morning. Mike told Emily to go
    back to bed and he proceeded to change Sky. After Sky was diapered and
    put into a warm sleeper, Mike found blankie and took Sky into his lap.

    "Sweetie, I know you are nervous about this move, but it will be a good
    thing. You'll see." With that said Sky fell asleep to the repetitive
    rocking.

    He awoke the next morning with a sore throat and stuffy nose. He felt
    tired and rolled over and put his thumb back in. He still couldn't
    believe that they were moving all the way across the ocean. The urge to
    go potty suddenly appeared and Sky held it for a bit. He didn't feel
    well enough to get out of bed so he held it for a bit hoping that his
    mommy or daddy would come get him.

    A little bit for Sky was about 2 minutes and after that the urge became
    extreme. He tried to hold it in and got up and tried to run, but his
    attempts failed. He let go and flooded his already soaked diaper.
    Accidents weren't uncommon, and whenever he was sick, Mommy or Daddy
    always diapered him so he didn't worry, but he felt really dizzy and
    crawled into bed. Mom came in with a tray of breakfast and a sippy cup
    of juice. Sky ate his food and lay back down with his cup. He soon fell
    asleep and awoke to Mommy packing up his toys and clothes.

    Sky started to feel kind of sad and whimpered a bit. Mommy turned
    around and told him that everything was alright and just to rest. She
    knew that he needed to get better as they would be on a plane the day
    after tomorrow. She had a doctors appointment scheduled and hoped there
    was a way to make him better. Sky awoke to his mom changing him. She
    picked him and wrapped him up in a blanket. Emily handed Sky his
    special blankie to cuddle with and carried him downstairs and out the
    door to the car. Sky was too groggy to realize where they were going,
    but once inside was alert.

    "Mommy, I don't want to be here" he protested.

    "You need to get better and if there is any medicine we can get you
    then that is what we're going to do. He knew she was right, but was
    *NOT* happy. Dr. Johnson came and greeted Sky after their short wait.
    Emily chatted with her about their move and Dr. Johnson was concerned
    about him getting sicker in England. She suggested an injection and
    knew it would work much faster along with oral antibiotics. Emily
    Agreed right away and Sky began to cry.

    The nurse entered the room and prepped his arm, she inserted the need,
    and injected the liquid. All the while, Sky emitted horrifying shrieks
    and announced that he hated everything. Mommy carried Sky to the car
    and tried to calm him down. She gave up trying to comfort him and
    placed his thumb in his mouth. She never disapproved of his prolong
    thumb sucking, but she always used other means to calm him rather than
    putting in his thumb. Sky knew that she didn't mind his thumb, but he
    always felt a bit off when it came to that. He was really able to enjoy
    the comfort his thumb brought when he sensed Emily's acceptance at his
    sucking as the only way to make him feel better. "Well, since your
    throat is so sore, I had Daddy go pick up your favorite ice cream.
    After a bit of lunch you can eat as much as you wish." Sky suddenly
    felt sympathetic toward his mom. He ate his lunch without complaint and
    downed two bowls of ice cream before he nodded off to sleep on the
    couch.

    During this time Mike and Emily had finally gotten the house packed up.
    They had all they essentials in boxes, addressed, and post marked. The
    shipping service arrived and picked them up and brought them to the
    cargo port of the international airport. The Whitman's were finally on
    their way to England.

    Chapter Two-

    Emily and Mike put Sky to bed that night. They put him in a diaper and
    sleeper and cuddled him extra that night. His medicine made him sleepy
    so he was out right after the first page of his story. Another thought
    was weighing in the back of Mike's head. How on earth was he going to
    tell Sky that they both *HAD* to travel to bases around Europe for the
    first six months. While this thought passed through Mike's mind, it
    constantly weighed on Emily's heart. In just one day, they would leave
    America, and have to find a boarding school for their beloved seven
    year old, but they had no choice. They needed the money desperately to
    survive once Mike was deployed in a year and no longer had a job. For
    medical benefits and the fact that the military would pay for her to go
    to college for another four years, Emily decided to take a job as a
    supply manager. She wanted a Masters and wanted to complete a second
    major and the best way she could do this was by joining the military.
    She never would have to be on active duty because of her student
    status, but along with Mike she needed to do paperwork and restock the
    bases, this meant traveling throughout Europe...WITHOUT Sky.

    The Whitman's awoke bright and early the next morning. Sky felt a ton
    better, but he was soaking wet. His nervousness caused him to wet
    himself. He'd never been on an airplane and he was afraid of what would
    happen at school. His right hand began to quiver and his thumb was soon
    resting firmly again his soft lips.

    To Be Continued