at the brink of my very own adulthood seventeen years ago, i was getting by with long-distance mommyhood. there were futile attempts at failed relationships and life lessons learned along the way much too soon.
my wish for him is this : stay young.
my youthful, light hearted-ness is the happy product of growing up a parent. i raised a child and in the process, raised myself. the presence of him in my life has been nothing short of a gift.
and because he is my son, we do frequently engage in off-island-state-of-mind conversation. he is weighed by the "what if"'s of having continued high school in guam when we left 4 years ago. by witnessing his former middle school friends close out their high school chapters back home, he wonders about the path we've taken on that fork on the road. it was one that i had forced on the both of us. few are given the opportunity to have been on both sides of the plate. such insights had only crossed my mind later in life and now my 17 year old has already realized the ties that bind him to home. one day he'll realize this a gift (or a curse).
You are a great mom. I wonder about what kind of life my kids would have if they were on Saipan instead of here in Seattle, too. I know we've made the best choice for them. It is a gift that you even think of this.
@kirida: biggest off-island-state-of-mind debate is raising kids. 2nd is career choice...in terms of "what makes you move?"