Thanks! I can say it’s been a blessing for our family, seeing our son serve others and thrive like never before.
And things like this happen: An elderly man at our church sends me a small check every week to forward to my son and always includes a card with a note such as, “Thanks for sharing your boy with the world.” Makes the separation easier.
D and her H live 3 years in Germany for work. We loved visiting them and making trips overseas. We met them places in Europe also. They now live on the west coast, and we head off there now.
I grew up with famiy in the UK. My dad was an expat in Asia for decades and I am still close to his wife who has stayed there. S was in China for 3 years, D in France at various time for year long stints, and other D has lived in Israel and the Caribbean at times. The world is so much smaller than it was decades ago, and at times I have had better communication with the overseas kids than when they are living domestically.
All the travel and interest in culture and geography has enriched my life immeasurably. We share passions for places and languages that I never would have imagined and having shared interests has really bonded us as a family. I found France intimidating years ago but have had great times there with Ds guidance
For the last few years all have lived in the USA, but one D leaves in a few months for Peace Corps in eastern Europe with her new husband. Time to start learning the Cyrillic alphabet for me and learn about a new corner of the world.
My family has been far flung for generations, so it is a lifestyle different from others, more interesting, if perhaps more lonely in ways. I always think of my grandmother in Scotland however, who made it a point to be close to me, with visits and letters, even if the distance was great. Keeping relationships close is a matter of time and intent with distance.
I fully expect mine will move to Greece to write dissertation after passing orals since the grant money will go much farther there. Have enjoyed the four years of Sunday dinners. Expected this all the time. =((
One of our Ds lives in London but her work as an actor/playwright takes her to NYC several times a year where we or one of her sisters often meets up with her. She is able to travel either to NYC or Toronto about every six weeks so we see her fairly often. And we try to get to the UK at least once a year. Another D is a four hour drive away and the other three live in Toronto near us. We are very fortunate. I can’t imagine only getting to see one of my girls two or three times a year. I feel for those who are in that position.
My kids have spent anywhere from 2 months to 2 years overseas and on the opposite coast from where we live and we used the time to visit them regularly and explore. S2 made it home only once in the 2 years he was in Israel, but we got there a few times. Facetime/Skype are wonderful ways to keep in touch. One year, my H would have lunch with my D as she was eating dinner thousands of miles and an ocean away, all via tech! However, they all now live within a mile of each other in NYC and we are in a close suburb, so I am a very lucky mom.
My D is moving to London on Saturday! Her company is transferring her; this is something she pursued. She did her study abroad in London and is thrilled to be going back. For her, it will mean a drop in her standard of living. Her salary will remain the same, but the cost of living is higher. However, she will be making more than if she was hired there directly. She is young and single and is very excited for the opportunity.
Her visa is for 3 years. We plan to keep in touch using technology, and hope to visit. I have a business trip to the middle east planned in August and will try to arrange my flights so I have a layover in London.
@college_query, that’s wonderful! When we were in London a few years ago with my parents, Dad wanted to watch a UT football game. We found a group of Texas Exes and met them at a BBQ restaurant across the street from the Tower of London. It was a really nice group of young people - they said there are a ton of young Americans working in London. It made me wish we’d accepted an opportunity we’d been offered in our 20s to work as engineers in London (we decided not to because they couldn’t pay us more than the British employees, and it wasn’t enough to live on, in our opinion).