Summer updates

Laura left for Japan. I was fine until a couple of days later when the momma Barn Swallow lined her babies up on the landing just below our bedroom window.  She coaxed each one off and had them test their wings.  I lost it.  With tears in my eyes I asked Tom "Can our Laura fly?".  She did fly and she flew with her wings strong and wide open.

She came home on the same day we came home from Mount Rushmore.  More on that and pictures to come later.  She was beyond tired due to the time changes.  She gathered us in the living room and gave each of us gifts.  I was given chop sticks.  Tom  was given a bottle of hot sauce.  Becca was given a Japanese sign.  Michael was  here visiting and she gave him Japanese candy.  She bought our family a Japanese doll to add to our doll collection. 

Over the last few weeks, we have learned that she wants to go back to Japan and teach English.  She is also considering doing mission work for a year.  I am so very proud of that girl of mine. We don't often see eye to eye on things, but I know she has a big heart and that she cares for others.

We learned that her host family's father was a fireman, so she was able to tour a Japanese fire house and try on their gear.  She got to go fishing where she was the only one that caught fish.  She  visited many temples and went to high school for a day.  She got to ride the "Bullet Train". She saw so many things that I will never experience and I love visiting Japan through her eyes. 

Before she left, I prayed that Laura's trip to Japan would be life changing for her.  It was.  She experienced a culture totally different than our own.  She had to rely on herself.  We had to let her go.  I knew that she would be different when she got back.  She was.  She was more mature and experienced. I was different too. I was that momma Barn Swallow who nudged her precious babies out on the landing and told them to get out of the nest, test their wings, and fly. 

The great thing about Barn Swallows is that they always return to their nest in the Spring.  The same nest in the very same spot.  Fly Laura, but please come back home from time to time.