I always had a feeling that my oldest son, Ian, would live in another country. I breathed I sigh of relief when he married Allison, a wonderful local young lady, five years ago. I thought that feeling was unfounded as they both had jobs and were enjoying city life here.

All of that changed last spring when they announced they were seriously considering moving to Japan. I can tell you that while I was smiling and telling them I would support their decision, my heart was heavy and sad because I just wanted them to stay close. Isn’t that what every mama wants? But, I didn’t feel that I could be selfish and pout and carry on because either way they were going for it.

Allison ended up getting a job first as an elementary teacher in an international school in Tokyo and they left in early August. That first day was awful as I was thinking about how far away they were going to be from us. The clincher was when my husband said, “I see that their plane is over Russia now. ”

“Russia? Really?That’s so far and they aren’t even there yet!” I burst into tears and ran out of the room after Dale made that announcement. It really helped that I had made plans for us to go see a fabulous homeschool drama production to pass the time away. But, as things would happen that day, I sat next to a woman with whom I struck up a conversation and I shared with her what had happened that day.

“They are living in Japan? Oh, I lived there for six years and loved it. I didn’t want to come back home.” I wanted to jump up right then and run away from her as it was not what I wanted to hear. But, that also brought comfort knowing that she enjoyed it that much.

So, fast forward a couple of months and you can see by the picture taken at the Imperial Palace that they are enjoying themselves and adjusting to life in the Far East. Ian has a job teaching English to adults and shares funny and interesting stories with me as he navigates the culture and language. By the way, neither of them speak Japanese! I know this is the best way to learn the language, but I am not sure I could have gone somewhere so totally different from where I had lived. I think that is the advantage to being young, you just do it. lol

So, as you homeschool, prepare your child to take risks, make mistakes, and give lots of encouragement to your sweet student. Our world is shrinking and you never know that perhaps your child will be like Ian and live abroad. I am glad he and Allison are intrepid, taking chances, and are living their lives as they feel called to do. I guess Dale and I will stay here at the homefront so they feel secure in knowing they can always come home. (And for me, that can never be too soon!) I am working and saving money so we can make the trek over to see them in the future. 🙂

Have a great week!

~Lisa