having your child move away

this is my baby girl patiently waiting in the puerto vallarta airport. she's studying japanese as we sit for forever on uncomfortable chairs.

we got there WAY ahead of time and i don't regret a moment because i knew i was going to have to say goodbye when we flew into san francisco. and i wasn't going to see her for a very long time.

that was horrible. i kissed her all over her face and cried. and on the ride home on the airbus; i cried. when i got home, i cried.

rae is now in chiba, japan and mina is in Los Angeles. they are enjoying living life now that they are out of school. my babies are real grown-up people, helping others learn and grow and i couldn't be prouder of them.

but, boy, being a mother really sucks sometimes. i worked hard at raising those two wonderful women. and, now, i have to accept that i'm not the center of their world anymore. intellectually, i have no problem with that. it's the emotional part that i, along with every other mom, find hard to deal with sometimes.

but i'm lucky as there's email and blogs and text messaging and snail mail. i'm still not the center of their world. but, i can keep informed of the good and the bad and i count myself lucky that my children are now my friends.

and, i only cry once in awhile. really.