School has just ended. The kids are happy to rest and relax, no pressures on homework and projects for the next couple of months. It also means saying goodbye to some friends whose families are moving out of Vietnam. Soon, it will be our turn.
At age 11, I left home for the first time. I stayed in a boarding house in the city during my high school years, and went home every weekend. At university, I stayed in a campus dorm and went home every month. The kids had their first stay of "leaving" when we moved to KL. After a while, we settled down and KL felt like home. We met good people who patiently helped us find our way - where the wet market was, what to do when we got a parking ticket - helped us move to a new apartment, and with whom we spent holidays and had barbecue parties with. After a few years, we left home. To go back home.
The world seems smaller now, more people are moving, and moving again. A sense of adventure, discovery and desire for growth had taken hold of the younger generation especially. Connectivity in this digital world made being apart more manageable. As people move, settle down, move again, where really is home?
Home, to us, is where our loved ones are, where we feel comfortable to be and accepted for who we are. My daughter H has been to 5 schools. Yes, the adjustment has not been easy but when I asked her if all the moving has been hard? She said "not really as long as we're all together".
And when one has to leave home, here's a quote from Donald Miller :
“Everybody has to leave, everybody has to leave their home and come back so they can love it again for all new reasons.”
Through Painted Deserts: Light, God, and Beauty on the Open Road
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