Sure, they still miss their old friends, and phone calls and letters are poor substitutes. But they did make new friends. They like school, and wear their Vikings jerseys, teasing the rabid Packer backers who tease them back. Life in a small town is similar to the way it was when I was growing up in Ely. The neighbors still watch out for your house and kids.
Locals are pleasant, but slow to befriend newcomers.
The friendliest people are those who have moved themselves. Already, the girls know that they can catch fireflies here, lie in the yard watching the stars change overhead, and where the best place is for watching the Fourth of July fireworks. What is new and strange will have become routine. Recently, a woman who used to own this house visited. She noticed that the wallpaper border she'd put up in the dining room was gone, but the curtains were the same.