08 September 2008

& she's off...

all my years of encouraging my children to see the world were realized for the first time through teary eyes in the wee hours of this morning...Baby Girl boarded a plane bound for costa rica for her semester abroad.i'm so proud of that child but i am surely missing her already! boyworld is lots of fun, but they just don't get the girlfriend thang! we've had a fantastic summer, & on the way to the airport, it was fun to discuss how different things will be when she returns in december...boyworld will be taller, advent will be in full swing with Christmas just around the corner, the air will certainly have more of a chill to it. we are sad to realize that we will miss thanksgiving for the first time as a family of 6 (there was just no way around that one)...but this opportunity will change her life. all travel does that. in her preparations for this journey i realized just how capable & mature she has become.buon viaggio, Baby Girl! may you have the journey of a lifetime & come home all the richer for it!...
sniff.

13 comments:

luckyblueeyedgirl said...

sniff, sniff, here too. I've been thinking about you guys all day. You know how fast Christmas always comes... what a sweet home-coming it will be! Can't wait to see you guys.
sniff, sniff...

Claudia said...

cuore di mamma...

Anonymous said...

study abroad in italy was the best thing i've EVER done!

your daughter will be so much more well rounded and worldly!

i know the day will come when my future kidlets will probably do the same to me...and walk away bound for foreign lands!


it makes us so much stronger!

Sandra Evertson said...

Very interesting photos below of the peaceful dock and then the storm arrives! Lovely
Sandra

Anonymous said...

Good luck to your daughter.

Our oldest son went to USA for one year when he was 17, then to Australia for three years some years later. It is always hard, but so good opportunities.

somepinkflowers said...

oh my...
i sniffed, too.

:-\

{{ you are such the good
and encouraging mom }}

Anonymous said...

I thought of you yesterday when I was thinking about this Spain thing... if anyone can give me help, advice, and tips, it would be you! Courtney is just such a little airhead sometimes - and I say that in the most loving way possible! But she's 13, you know, what can you say.

If she's going to Spain I want her to appreciate what she's seeing. Will she?
I want her to be safe and have someone to share her fun with. Will she?

I'm glad to hear that you think that is a good deal, too. Wow, it's so much money to me. But they are staying in 3 and 4 star hotels - just to make it simpler on the group as a whole. It will be a minimum of 30 people. But they will get to do a LOT of sightseeing and have lots of tours with tour guides provided - that is a good way to do a first trip abroad.

I have a friend who is now my age, but she went to Costa Rica when she was in high school, too. She really loved her Spanish classes and her parents sent her to Costa Rica to live with a family for the summer to find out if that would be something she would like to pursue - Spanish, that is. She did - and taught Spanish for years before having children. And last year she took her whole family back there on vacation - parents included - and introduced them to the family she stayed with and all of that. She was very excited about it.
But they have a lot more money than we do and travel a LOT. I WANT to travel a lot, and I hear that you can do it on a budget, but the fact is that it must not be a high enough priority for us to actually do it - because we don't. Maybe I'm just not convinced that we CAN.

Which is why this trip to Spain sounds good to me - it would force us to do it, you know? Hm. Any thoughts are welcome. Thanks for your comments today! It all goes so fast, doesn't it? Ah, but we revel in their happiness, even while feeling the loss.

Annie Jeffries said...

What an exciting time she will have. You will have to get to know each other all over again. Oh the changes. My son did a semester abroad in Italy. Gave him so much self-confidence.

Paula In Pinetop said...

*hug*

Anonymous said...

Costa Rica is fabulous - a friend of mine retired there (at 39 and a half!).
No army. No personal income tax.
Definitely his definition of heaven.
Sending best wishes to you both.

rochambeau said...

It's gonna be GOOD!
Babygirl is like her mama. Off on a new adventure. Letting go lovingly adds to the confidence of a child.
This is an exciting step!
Thinking of you being brave.

And of you in boy world. ;-)
xox
Constance

Ivÿ said...

wow, study abroad! I think your daughter will truly be thankful and excited for the opportunity you gave her. It's saddening for you and your family that she has to leave but education is one legacy you can leave to your kids. :)

anyway, thank you for the welcome. I hope to have fun at She Who Blogs. :)

- A - C - said...

Traveling is just the way to open your mind, to broaden your horizon and ultimately to better understand humanity. What a great opportunity you gave her.

A.