Viva Italy!

Friday, December 17, 2010 was the last official day of my daughters Junior year in an American High School! Many many months ago, we embarked on an idea, more a dream of Cassie getting the amazing chance to spend time living in another country and attending High School there. It has been a journey, an adventure, to get to this point. She and I have spent countless hours filling out long applications, searching for scholarships to apply for, writing essays, researching programs, applying for her passport, verifying health insurance parameters and visa requirements, travel arrangements, host families, and the list goes on and on.

Alas, we are now here, at the point of looking down the barrel of her bright future. This future is one that includes traveling to New York for her international departure on January 26, 2011. She will then travel to Zurich, Switzerland and onto Rome, Italy. From Rome she will travel by train to northern Italy where she will meet her host family and be introduced to her new life! Having said this, I am absolutely thrilled for her. Secretly, I am scared to death. I will miss her beyond what words can express. She is 16 and such a beautiful person, inside and out. I have enjoyed watching her discover her own potentials, the world around her and I have enjoyed seeing the transformation and growth into the wonderful person she is today.

Although our lives can be challenging on a day to day basis with the work grind and the obligatory list of things to do, it is a joy. The opportunity that Cassie is presented with is a gift and a blessing. It is a reminder of how lucky I am too, all day, every day. Please keep Cassie in your thoughts and hearts as she begins her journey. Viva Italy!