Stuart Ablett
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Tomorrow, March 25th, we take our eldest daughter Erika to the airport in Narita to send her to Canada. Erika decided that she wanted to do her high school years in Canada, she would like to become truly bilingual and to learn more about Canadian culture (yes there is Canadian culture ) and to know her family in Canada better too.
Erika will be traveling alone for the first time, usually when she goes to Canada to visit, she is with her sister, or us, but now, at almost 16, I think she is ready and will do just fine.
This is the beginning of a new chapter in our lives, for us who are staying in Tokyo, the house will be a bit quieter with one less daughter/sister around, and for Erika going to Canada, this is the point where she leaves home. Who knows what the future holds, and at some point, Erika may very well live under our roof again, but she will not be a child anymore, and will have become an adult. I would imagine that most of us left home a little older than 15, and in a way, Erika is not really leaving home, as she will be living with grampa and grama in Canada, but she is leaving our home.
I have to admit, I've not got my head around this yet, and while I'm very happy for Erika, I'm also a bit sad, for myself, as I'll not be there to watch this wonderful girl blossom into a wonderful young woman. We will be watching from afar, which is not something we are used to. Thank goodness for the internet and for Skype!!
I know that tomorrow at the airport, I'm going to have to bring at least two hankies, as one will not be enough, I'm her dad, so I'm allowed to worry, and I tell you, I've really gone all out in planning for every contingency I can think of, with back up plans two and three deep
I imagine that she will not need them, but it will make me feel better at the very least. I know that when she leaves tomorrow at 7PM our time, I'll not get any sleep until she touches down in Vancouver and clears customs and immigration, collects her luggage and checks in for her domestic flight to Kelowna, at that point she is supposed to fire up her Macbook and Skype us at home in Tokyo, that will be around 4:30 AM here I'll be up all night, I just know it.
Thanks for letting me share this here.
Stu
Erika will be traveling alone for the first time, usually when she goes to Canada to visit, she is with her sister, or us, but now, at almost 16, I think she is ready and will do just fine.
This is the beginning of a new chapter in our lives, for us who are staying in Tokyo, the house will be a bit quieter with one less daughter/sister around, and for Erika going to Canada, this is the point where she leaves home. Who knows what the future holds, and at some point, Erika may very well live under our roof again, but she will not be a child anymore, and will have become an adult. I would imagine that most of us left home a little older than 15, and in a way, Erika is not really leaving home, as she will be living with grampa and grama in Canada, but she is leaving our home.
I have to admit, I've not got my head around this yet, and while I'm very happy for Erika, I'm also a bit sad, for myself, as I'll not be there to watch this wonderful girl blossom into a wonderful young woman. We will be watching from afar, which is not something we are used to. Thank goodness for the internet and for Skype!!
I know that tomorrow at the airport, I'm going to have to bring at least two hankies, as one will not be enough, I'm her dad, so I'm allowed to worry, and I tell you, I've really gone all out in planning for every contingency I can think of, with back up plans two and three deep
I imagine that she will not need them, but it will make me feel better at the very least. I know that when she leaves tomorrow at 7PM our time, I'll not get any sleep until she touches down in Vancouver and clears customs and immigration, collects her luggage and checks in for her domestic flight to Kelowna, at that point she is supposed to fire up her Macbook and Skype us at home in Tokyo, that will be around 4:30 AM here I'll be up all night, I just know it.
Thanks for letting me share this here.
Stu