<p>????????????</p>
<p>Sybbie, I actually had to google "flat leaver"!!! I finally found it on a website titled "Old School Phrases You Don't Hear Anymore".
[quote=<a href="http://www.anabolex.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-71761">http://www.anabolex.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-71761</a>]
Flat Leaver.. When you are hangin with one group then go off with another group
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</p>
<p>Sybbie is old school!!!</p>
<p>SBmom,
I apologize in advance since I'm not willing to trade, but Doddsmom and I literally sold almost everything and moved to Europe a little over five years ago. It wasn't as romantic as cruising the islands since we went to new jobs, but it was a dramatic change in our lives. In the middle of the school year, we sold our big home on 15 acres complete with rail fences, barn and two ponds and moved here with our children in tow. At the time, they were in 3rd and 6th grades attending a small parochial school. Initially the move was hardest on DD (now age 13). Before we left, she was asking our family and friends if they would adopt her so she wouldn't have to move. I think she may have been serious, but I've never really wanted to find out for sure. (There are a bunch of stories associated with our move, but I'm trying to learn to write shorter posts.) </p>
<p>DW and I have never regretted the decision, although we miss closer contact with family....well sometimes we do. One of my only regrets is that we didn't do it when we were younger. We feel very fortunate to have this opportunity. In many ways, we have the advantages of both an American and a European lifestyle. I hope we don't have to leave before retirement age, and maybe not even then...</p>
<p>doddsdad,</p>
<p>I am not sure we want to sell and go permanently but we have considered that for retirement. Sounds like you are enjoying life abroad!</p>
<p>Because I did this before, solo, in France, I am already fluent in french-- but I have no desire to be the "family interpreter" for a year.</p>
<p>My notion is we go somewhere where none of us speaks the language and we all do an immersion course. I most want to learn italian, but I'd consider any other language if the destination seemed appealing.</p>
<p>Part of my thinking has to do with kid#2, my elder son, and his ADD-- and the "break" this could provide in the grind that is, for him, school. Just poking around in another culture and learning the language would be enough, IMO; he could start 9th grade when we return. I don't really want to officially homeschool (though I could.) More, I want to give him a chance to mature a little bit while doing something fun and productive.</p>