Abby has dreamed of studying abroad in sunny Spain since high school. Today, she boarded a plane with a backpack full of dreams, school supplies and a box of mike and ikes. I watched her go – happy that her grand adventure had begun and sad that our precious daughter would now be far, far away.
It recalled to mind the day I boarded a plane to New Jersey to raise my hand for Uncle Sam’s offer to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States…” I had a suitcase in hand, but the Army helpfully issued me a backpack and all the gear I would need for my grand adventure.
Abby, on the other hand, spent several days trying to decipher which items were essential to cram inside her backpack for a semester in Europe. When the backpack, looking too fat, was brought down this morning, she finally let me see inside.
How do you explain to a future Elementary School Teacher that three coloring books and a box of crayons really are not essential items for traveling?
