Transitions

Noah and his girlfriend, Hannah.

On Saturday, my second and last-born child Noah, graduated from Calvin College with his BA in International Relations.  It's hard to believe that four years have passed since he graduated from the American International School of Accra.  It's even more difficult to believe that his dad missed not only his high school graduation but now his college graduation.  It underscores how long Bob has been gone and how much he has missed in his children's lives, and will continue to miss.  Noah's graduation hit me a lot harder than Hannah's and I think it is because for me it is the end of the "undergraduate" college era.  My kids are both fully launch-able, even as they are not yet fully launched.  I feel great sadness at both their longing and their need to hear the wisdom that their dad would have espoused to them over these important and formative years.  I long to see the look of pride on Bob's face as his kids graduate and begin to consider how to impact the world that he cared about with such passion.

Proud Mama with son

Noah has been blessed with a position in Washington DC as a background investigator for people seeking security clearance with the US government.  He will be working for CACI International, a contractor for the US Office for Personnel Management.  Because of this, he needs high security clearance and therefore many of his friends and family have been contacted by investigators doing thorough research into Noah and his acquaintances.  He has had to list out every foreign person that he knows, which for a kid with a Canadian mother and Canadian step-dad is many, not to mention his acquaintances from Liberia, Ghana, and a number of other countries where his high-school classmates have spread.  It makes for an interesting time of looking back over one's life, which has been very full, even at the young age of 21 years.  It has been quite a life thus far.

Today we leave for DC to look for an apartment for him and begin to navigate the new landscape (if you have any tips on how to find an affordable apartment, please let us know!).  While he has lived in more difficult environments, this is the first time he is heading out on his own.  Tough for me to see him go, even while I go all the time!

My prayer for Noah is from Guerillas of Grace by Ted Loder:

In this moment,
draw me to yourself, Lord
and make me aware,
not so much of what I've given
as of all I have received
and so have yet to share. 

Send me forth in power and gladness
and with great courage
to live out in the world
what I pray and profess,

that, in sharing, 
I may do justice 
make peace,
grow in love,
enjoy myself, 
other people
and your world now,
and You forever.

Can you pick Noah out?  No?  Me neither, which is why I took binoculars with me.  Last year, I found out that I had been tracking the wrong girl instead of my daughter Hannah and I wasn't going to let that happen again.  They all laughed when I took out the binoculars but a number of them ended up borrowing them!

Hannah and my mom, and in the distance my sister Janette and husband Dale behind (note where the binoculars are) :)

Noah and his good friends

Grad friends cutting their cake together.

The Cake