There are times when you feel the sharp edge of life and shrink back to safety. You feel vulnerable.

We went to the Swiss Alps last week. It’s a short flight to Lyon where we planned to get in a rental van and drive the 4 hours to Grindelwald, Switzerland. The Sunday night we landed and merrily walked through a quiet airport and took the rental car shuttle to get our van. Our happy moods ended instantly when I realized that I had forgotten my credit cards…They were sitting on my desk back in Toulouse.

The rental car agent asked if there was anyone I could call to help. I shook my head “No, it’s just us…”

It was dark. We couldn’t rent a car. It was late. All 7 of us were huddled together on a bench outside the rental car agency in silence. Alone in a foreign country where we don’t speak the language late on a Sunday night. Grace whispered “What’s going to happen?”

Thanks to Uber and Hotels.com I reserved a hotel room and got a ride. For a few minutes before we had a plan the kids were terrified and I felt a little scared too.

The night before we flew to France my friend, Jason Allen, said that our family would never be closer than we will the next few months in France. I had actually never thought about that before he predicted it. The logistics of the move were so overwhelming that just getting there was my only focus.

We all had our lives going smoothly in Idaho. We knew what we were doing. Now those grooves are disturbed so badly that we feel the edge of life. We’re regrouping and readjusting to a new life. We need each other. We’ve banded together. We’re a close little tribe of friends.

Notice how Sam is in the middle of nearly all of these photos? They gather around her.