Today my eldest daught=
er left home, driving west and heading for San Diego. She's going t=
here on orders from the United States Navy and will likely be there for =
four years. For my overseas friends, this is about 3,535 kilometers dis=
tant. My wife went along on the drive — it will take three days — to =
assist in safety.

This is our first child to head out on a more=
-or-less permanent basis. Although we're confident she will visit f=
rom time to time, it is certain she no longer lives in our home. Very s=
oon she will be somewhere out to sea, on the wide expanses of the Pacifi=
c Ocean.

(I wish I were going along!) 😉

We have ano=
ther child in university who resides on campus during the school year, a=
nd the youngest at home in secondary school. But soon they, too will sp=
read their wings and fly away.