A message to my 8-year old...the grass is always greener on the other side

I took the kids swimming today...
Then after a while my 8-year old son became moody
He didnt want to play with the others and he didnt want to share the floats
Normally I will get angry and sometimes just shout at him to behave but today I told him to sit by the side of the pool whilst I sorted out the others...
The other children continued to play and enjoy themselves so, I came back to sit with my son.
We sat side by side, he had his hands supporting his face and so I copied him...
He started laughing
I asked him "What's wrong baby?"
He said "I want to go back to England...I dont like it here."
I asked him why...
He said he feels different and sad...

I can't begin to express how I felt to hear him say that...no mother wants to hear that her child is sad
My first instinct is to protect him, to buy the tickets today and go back to UK immediately but the next challenge of being a parent is to be tough...to make decisions that no other person can make...
To tell the children that they can't have what they want.
To tell the person that you love with all your heart that you can't give them what they want or what they think they need...that you can't take them out of a situation that they feel is unbearable...because you love them.

The challenge doesn't end there...the next step is to explain to him the ways of the world...how the grass is always greener on the other side...that things don't remain still, people change, his friends have changed, England has changed and we can't just go back and expect to be the same and feel the same. How do you explain all that to an 8-year old when sometimes you may find it difficult to even convince yourself?

So, I just reminded him that this is our home now...we cannot go back. We still have one another and that is all that matters...

I used to wonder everyday if I have made the right decision to come back but now...I know I have. How do I convince my son that in the whole scheme of things, the bigger picture...this is better for us. As a child all he can think about is making friends, friendly teachers, fun learning methods at school...all the things he missed in the UK. He's not thinking about financial situation, government agenda, media propaganda against Islam and issues that even some adults do not care to bother...

I just hope that he will understand one day and that he will not blame me for it. He will understand that parents have to make the decision based on what we think is right at the time...based on the limited knowledge and understanding that we have as human beings.... we cannot see the future... we do not know what is around the corner...but we have to decide anyway what is best for now and hope that the future will be as we pray it will be.

Luckily...Alhamdulillah children are resilient...half an hour later he was playing, laughing and going out with his friends to play...