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| Cool reprieve for Mia, Penny and Scooby |
The cool breeze is a welcome relief after the blisteringly hot days we have just experienced. Summer is here, hot and horrid! If you don't know already, I am not a fan of the heat, and high humidity levels rate exceptionally low on my comfort scale. It was so bad yesterday that I ended up bringing in the three puppies, who slept for a solid four hours in front of the lounge room fan. The cows spent their day around the water trough, under the shade, and in their jostling managed to break another water pipe. The hens, simply spread their wings and lay still in the dust under the big gum tree.
Thankfully with every hot day to come, it brings us one day closer to autumn, with its cooler days and chilly nights.
The highlight of the week was our send off for Bek. In 17 days she will embark on a journey
of some 14,222km to a town
in the province of
Avellino, Campania, Italy. Located
in a landscape of woods and mountains, a google search states it is a
delightful town that is an ideal starting point for excursions to the nearby
Mount Esca and the hill of Saint Martin.
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| Look out Italy! |
Before Bek came home from
school one afternoon, and stated she might be interested in an exchange program,
we had never heard of this region, nor could we have imagined the journey
we were about to embark on. Now, nearly eight months later, we were joined by
many of Bek’s family and friends to wish her well on this exciting adventure.
Bek has persevered through
many challenges during the course of this application, to be accepted as an
exchange student and she has shown great
determination to achieve her goals. Now, despite some moments of uncertainty
Bek is well on her way to success.
In about 389 hours Bek will
board her flight, travel for approximately 22hours, and then immerse herself in
the Italian culture for 314 days.
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| My two B's getting the party ready |
In the mean-time, back home, she will be missed by us all.
For some of us we will miss
her constant singing, her ability to talk under water, her quirky sense of
humour, her friendship, her stubbornness, her thoughtfulness, her
inquisitiveness, her ability to forget something everywhere she goes, her smile
and her laughter, her hugs and her tears, yet all the while we will be wishing
her the adventure of a young person’s lifetime.
In all my imaginings, I never expected to be putting my youngest daughter on a plane to the other side of the world, yet here I am, days away from bidding her farewell.
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| So proud of this girl |
"Good parents give their children roots and wings. Roots to know where home is, wings to fly away and exercise what's been taught them."
-– Jonas Salk
