Today is one of the biggest days my daughter will ever have in her life. That is a big statement, and not one I make casually. But today is the beginning of a life changing, mind expanding adventure that will mark her forever as a global citizen, and I could not be more proud.
For over 20 years, this child of mine has belonged to me. I have nurtured her and loved her and carried her, within and without, since the moment she was conceived, even before I knew her life had begun.
When she was born, she belonged to her family, and we have cared for her and nurtured her and taught her and helped her to grow and learn. She joined her first church family when she was baptized, and her Jesus family, which has expanded exponentially over the years, has helped to nurture and grow her religious faith and quest for her personal Savior.
When she went to preschool, she became a part of her school family. Hard lessons were learned at the feet of educators and peers, who were not always concerned about her feelings as much as her learning, but it all served to grow and expand her qualities of compassion and generosity of spirit along with her mind and knowledge.
When she graduated from high school, she joined the adult community, and when she went to college, she became a part of the larger American culture. She learned about people who grew up differently, and she found out how others celebrate their faith and families. She has tried out various majors, and taken a variety of classes, as she struggled to find out where God and the world are leading her heart and mind.
Until now, although the umbilical cord has stretched and become fragile between us, we were never more than a few miles and a phone call apart. If she really needed me, I could be there at the drop of a hat. That knowledge allowed her to spread and exercise her wings, and prepared her to truly fly on her own.
Today, that moment has arrived. My smart, charming, determined, funny, generous, beautiful, faithful, caring, wonderful, treasured daughter is becoming a part of the global community. In a few short hours, she will lift off from the United States, and when her journey is done, she will have traveled 8500 miles to the other side of the globe to spend a semester in Arusha, Tanzania. She will learn a new language (Swahili) and she will learn to eat new foods. She will live with people who have never been out of Africa, and for whom the United States is just a place on a map. She will experience a new culture, a new expectation and a new educational opportunity, as she puts into practice what she has been taught her whole life. The stars will align differently in the Southern Hemisphere, and she will learn to truly understand that we are together in heart, no matter where we are in space.
She will work with orphans who have AIDS. She will shop in a market for fresh fruits and vegetables, and will eat traditional foods she has never before experienced. She will spend a weekend with a Maasai family, and travel to the island of Zanzibar. She will see Tanzania far and wide, from the ocean to the mountains to the Serengeti. She hopes to raft on the Nile, and touch the Cape of Good Hope. She will live in the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro, and will enjoy an equatorial summer and rainy season and learn what that is like.
Throughout it all, she will be living in a community far from home, out of reach of everyone she loves now. But I know and trust that before she comes back in four short months, she will find a new home, in her heart, and in the world, and a piece of Africa will certainly come back with her. I trust that she will also leave her small mark on the people she meets, and that knowing her will change them, as knowing them will change her.
This is the moment I have dreamed of, reached for, talked about, prepared for, dreaded, and been excited about since the moment I knew she was on her way. Today, my treasured daughter will become a part of the world community, and she will start to find her place on this planet. I pray that the world will treat her with care. I pray that she knows my heart will always be with her. I pray that she finds her way, whether through an unfamiliar airport or an experience that pulls her in directions she never before imagined.
I pray she comes back changed, inspired, renewed, and rewarded for the risks she has taken in leaving everything familiar and comfortable and embracing the unknown.
I love you so much I will let you go to find yourself wherever your life leads you. Always remember the way back home is through your heart, wherever you may be. Love is not about time and space, it's about what we have built for the last 20 years together - good and bad, happy and sad, fun and boring, hard and easy, loud and quiet. We are a winning team, in life, and in our love and caring for each other. Go and have the time of your life. I can't wait for you to begin.
Karibu katika ulimwengu, Erin!
