Soaring into the Unknown

My younger daughter started the next chapter in her life this morning by moving to Connecticut. During the last few months, a lot of friends and family have asked what I think about my baby moving half a country away, and they're pretty consistently surprised that I'm excited for her. "Arent you going to miss her," they ask? Well, yeah, of course I'm going to miss her. She's been gone less than twelve hours and I miss her already, but that's not the point. I could look at this from a narrow viewpoint and obsess over the fact that my baby is leaving, but that's not how I think. When she initially told me that she was thinking about moving, I looked back to when I left my hometown, and remembered what an exciting life that was for me. When I left home, I spent six years traveling extensively, courtesy of Uncle Sam. I made new friends, tried new food and experienced new cultures to such an extent that I could die today and still have seen more than most people twice my age. I went out, I saw the world, and I came back home to raise my family. Am I going to miss my daughter? Sure. But I look back on my experience and realize it was a blast, and it helped me grow as a person. I fully expect the same for my little girl. I may miss her, but I'm proud of her for spreading her wings and soaring into the unknown.