The time has come

"The walrus said..."

Now really, I have no idea where that saying came from, except that I remember my grandma Ruth saying it!
Anyway, it popped into my head when I was starting this post, so that's what I wrote!

3 years ago, the first of July our Daughter Laura went to Finland to live and work.
Without today's technology of cell phones, skype, internet--e-mail, blogging and facebook, I can hardly imagine how difficult it would be to have any of my children go so far away.  When I was a kid, "over-seas" was very very far away, and rather un-amaginable.
Today's technology and the ease/frequency of travel makes it a whole different scenario.  While it was still difficult to see her leave, I know it was no where near close to years ago when travel & communication was a very long and difficult process.

This was a couple months before I started blogging, so I'll post the pictures from then.

 Our family--at the airport to see her "off"...

Some of her co-workers who came

Goodbye's are a bit hard at best, and there's alot of distance & time with this one!

At least there was a smile for the last view before the gate!

*******
Last summer our 14 year old daughter went to visit her for 3 months, traveling by herself. (See here) I don't think I ever would have been able to send her alone without the technology!  She flew from Denver to Newark, NJ, and I saw her on the plane in Denver.  Laura was in communication with me via cell phone at the same time as tracking Meshayla's flight progress on the computer.  From boarding, to take off, to progress in the air. 

Meshayla called me as soon as they landed in Newark, and I talked to her as she went from her arrival gate, to her departure gate, both of us looking at the maps of the terminal that we printed off the computer.  She hung up after telling me she was on the plane, and Laura called to tell me that the plane had taken off.  She sent me updates via facebook telling me of her progress as long as it was available, & then called to tell me that the plane had landed, and Meshayla was safely on the "otherside" and by her side.

We worked it in reverse on her flight back home 3 months later.  Pretty much kept the whole "traveling on her own" thing bearable.  (And yes Lynisha and Relyssa, I know...I STILL had some moments...)

Anyway....a little side tracked with where this post was suppose to be going.... 

It's MINE....For the very first time, I have a passport.  Travel in my life has been very limited & I've never had a reason to get one before.

After much talking, persuading & figuring out plans, *I* am going to visit Laura!  Leon can't go as he dosen't have time off from his job available.
I applied for and got my passport in record time, still didn't know for sure who was going to go with me, I was NOT wanting to go by myself, and I was thrilled when my friend Ruthie said how much she'd like to visit over there, and I said "Would you like to go with me"? and she said "YES"!

(Raimie w/baby P. Gay,-- me, and Lynisha with our friend Ruthie.  We spent the night and had Sunday morning and noon with her on our way home from our trip to Longaberger country Ohio.)

I leave the middle of Sept, and will be gone for 3 weeks.
Now I have my work cut out for me.  Arrangements for kids.  Laundry done up.  Bills paid.  I have a convention to get ready for first, and then last but not least......
The all consuming question of WHAT CLOTHES DO I TAKE?