Today marks the fifth hour of the 1 Day 1 World Project by Lisa at Northwest Frame of Mind. If you are interested in learning more about this Project, or want to join, you can read Lisa’s introduction by clicking on this link.

Yesterday afternoon I met my daughter, HollyAnn, at Baja Fresh for our last dinner together for 27 months. Monday morning she will start her Peace Corps journey to Uganda to serve in a position in public health. As you can see in this picture, my daughter shares my love of hiking and the outdoors. As we ate dinner, HollyAnn shared with me the latest information about her assignment. She will be able to choose from several different opportunities once she completes her two to three months of training in the capital city of Kampala. One of the assignments is working with children. As soon as I heard this I knew that she would most likely choose this assignment. During her senior year at University she worked with under privileged school children and really enjoyed the students. She has also been a gymnastics coach which helped pay her way through college. 

My daughter definitely takes after me because she is excited but apprensive. Looking forward to the change but overwhelmed with all the details. Introverted but willing to help others when asked. Ready to quit but determined to succeed. Worried about the unknown but wanting to explore. HollyAnn has a work ethic that is unusual for her generation. I have already been instructed by HollyAnn that if she calls crying to come home, I am to tell her “you chose this job and you need to see it through to completion” (that will be extremely difficult for me to do if it actually happens). On our way home we stopped by to visit a couple who both served in the Peace Corps. That is where they met and ended up getting married. HollyAnn has been their babysitter for many years. 

So as a father am I worried? Yep. But I know that HollyAnn has done her research and this is what she wants to do. Fortunately we have all these great technologies that will allow us to stay in touch. Plus HollyAnn met a missionary at our church who has worked in Kampala for about twenty years helping to care for and teach orphaned children. I know that HollyAnn will succeed.

With HollyAnn leaving, my nest is empty. I too am entering a period of change. But Maggie and the old house will keep me busy.

As a side note, I discovered during training for my new assignment how the process for reporting a potential security infraction works in real time. By the look on my new managers face, it was not good. But in the end my calculator was deemed acceptable and there was no infraction because it is government property. My manager and I agreed that my calculator would still be taken back to my other office and I would order a different calculator (the rules are different for my employer). In the end my new manager thanked me for handling the incident in the correct manner and being completely honest and straightforward. I have to admit, it ruined my concentration for the rest of the day.