You might be the parent of a World Racer who has returned if:
- You made their favorite food…immediately.
- You realize they do not want to spend every waking hour with you telling you about every detail.
- You wish they did.
- You didn’t realize that you STILL had expectations for them even after a year away.
- You try to let them go…again.
- You made sure the sheets were clean weeks before they arrived home.
- They have already left again.
- You didn’t know they would be leaving again so soon.
- You realize this travel wanderlust thing is probably permanent.
- You know that means you will be saying goodbye over and over again.
- You are beginning to be okay with that.
- They are writing a resume for a “real job.”
- They have no idea what that will be.
- You worry about that fact for a bit….just a bit…alot less than before.
- God is opening doors for them here just as he did when they were on the Race.
- For some reason that amazes you.
- You have decided to get your own life.
- You have begun to step out in areas that you previously didn’t know existed.
- You see people around you that you never noticed before.
- The needs in our own country stand out more.
- You feel the need to “go” yourself, somehow, some way.
- You don’t know what that looks like.
- You don’t know how to do that at your age, with your job and responsibilities.
- You try to figure it out anyway.
- You start where you are and do what you can.
- You realize that going doesn’t have to mean a physical place, but more of a heart place.
- You miss monthly blogs and updates.
- You miss seeing their smiling faces with kids from around the world.
- You miss the other parents who you came to know and love through shared experience.
- You realize you can still have those things if you are a parent volunteer.
- You shamelessly put in a plug to be a parent volunteer in your blog. 🙂
- Your roles have changed.
- Your child, who is no longer a child, has become a beautiful adult person.
- Your life is changing too.
- That’s okay.
- You see what God was doing all along.
- You realize he really did/does know what is best.
- For you.
- For your racer.
- It is beautiful.
- You praise him for it.
Month 12 and 13…National Parks…USA…couch surfing…camping…seeing home country…visiting racer friends…still smiling!
Michelle's Mosaic 
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. By Mark Twain
I was edified by Mark Twain’s quote recently.
Your points hit right on with me. There are a few more in my world.
* Life is precious. Make the time to call or visit those who have made an impact on your world. They might be gone tomorrow.
* Let your World Racer grow up. That means they KNOW you love them unconditionally. God has given us the honor to be the one who raised them, but now tells us to take off the apron. They will find there are no apron strings to cut. Our role as parent is over as we knew it. God wants our relationships to be deeper. Let us each win, let each of us fail, let each of us get up again by the grace of Christ. Just love through it all.
*Their home is where their heart is …not where they left their stuff in my house. My home is where my heart is…not the stuff in my house. My World Racer taught me to minimize. When God tells me to give something away and reveals who I should give it to…my soul soars in joy that someone needed it, appreciates it, and I was a blessing to them! What a precious honor this is from Christ. (As for my Racer’s stuff, she has a year. :-))
God bless you, Michelle!!!