These lyrics come to mind as we are on our trip to America to deliver our 18-year old daughter to college, that familiar rite of passage that is more poignant when it is timed with our upcoming move back home as well as our son's emergence into the "real world" having just graduated college.
I remember packing up my things to head off to college. I had the security of knowing that whatever I didn't take with me would be safely waiting for me in my room back home. Poor Lexi just has to trust that her remaining possessions will get packed up and delivered to our next residence, after Mom sorts through them of course to minimize what has to get shipped (literally on a ship) across the ocean.
Poor Lexi was also limited to what she can take to college by what fits in her allotment of two suitcases and one carry-on bag for the plane. So different from my experience of filling up our family car and my dad driving me. I remind her that the experience of living in England makes it a small price to pay. We'll just provision her up when we get to Nashville at the local Target.
Four years ago our son had to go through the same process of bundling up his possessions in suitcases for the plane ride to college from England. He had to travel by himself on the plane, meeting up with his dad already in the States on a trip. Man that was a hard goodbye at the airport knowing we would be an ocean apart.
Fortunately it all worked out extremely well for Ryan. He did great at college, academically, socially, spiritually. He got to spend Christmas breaks with us in exotic locations around the world, although that did mean spending many hours on jet planes.
Ryan's success story continues, landing an amazing job as an engineer with Boeing in Seattle. It is so exciting to come visit him after he's only been here three weeks and his apartment is all set up. He had the challenge of leaving college and getting moved to Seattle once again on an airplane. He's an old pro at that by now. I guess it's appropriate that he went to work for an airplane company.
Ryan now owns a brand new car that we got to help him pick out. Maybe now his life will be more "grounded".
I think the kids can see now that having ex-pat parents doesn't totally ruin your life. It only makes you more aware that life is a journey. Funny that we keep running into that "journey" word. We rode on an elephant in Thailand that we thought was named Journey (was actually Jenny). And now we have a rental car in Seattle that is a Dodge Journey.
Lexi doesn't know when she'll be back in London again,
Oh babe I hate to go...
But I think it will all be fine.
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