Another unwanted milestone!

This is the weekend I say farewell to these 2 wonderful girls:

(Elly (left) and Ayaka (right)

Ayaka's been with me for a year, and she's been a great house daughter.  Although I'm sorry that she's leaving me, she is only going to another part of the province; so I'll see her again which makes saying goodbye to her much easier.

But Elly been with me for 3 years.  That's a lifetime in teen years!  She was 15 year old when she arrived; she had little confidence in herself and could hardly speak or understand English.  She struggled the first semester with making friends except for the other Korean girl in school.  She would sometimes fall asleep in class and was unresponsive to her teachers -- 'cause she didn't know what they were saying or how to express herself.  Her idea of a spending spree was a trip to the Dollar Store and coming home

with a bag full of hair accessories and candy bars.  She never went out to the movies; she never watched English TV.  We'd go on day trips, and she'd sulk for the first 1/2 hour because she wasn't allowed to bring along her I-phone or Game Boy.  But I let her know in those first 5 months that if she was serious, then I was committed to helping her overcome the hard spots.  And she has rewarded me with her success.  

Over this 3 year period together, we've had lots of fun evenings full of card games and weird Korean snacks.  We've had fantastic day trips together where we spent too much money on clothes and delicious food.  We've had long, long talks about & boys & sex & the pain of having periods; about love & family & duty; about drinking & smoking & drugs; about education & travel & prejudice -- we've talked it all!   We've had some disagreements and gotten on each others nerves.  Her room is always a mess, even 2 hours after she's tidied; she never quite finishes cleaning the kitchen when it's her turn to do the dishes; and you can rely on the last of her laundry still being in the dryer when you go to do your wash.  The bathroom mirror is flecked with toothpaste and you have to wipe around the sink ('cause she's obviously almost drowned in it while she's been washing).  She spends too much time on the computer and, although she's respectful enough NOT to answer it, her phone constantly beeps and rings throughout meals.  When I ask her to do something, she'll do it ...... after a 3-5 min pause to let you know who's really in charge!  I love the way she's outspoken with her friends, 

even if her opinion differs from theirs.  I love how she knows her worth as a woman and will often tell other girls how they should be treated by their boyfriends.  I love how she'll always say yes to dessert (and how we are both going to cut back "tomorrow").  And I love how quickly she became aware of my tastes and how she's soooo generous and always buys me the perfect gifts.  She knows me very well ... and I her.  She has truly become my daughter!

She taught me so much about being not just a host-mother to international kids, but about being a better mother in general.  She has an amazing sense of humour and we always get each others jokes.  She helped to teach me to cook Korean and was always positive about every dish I tried, even the crappy ones.  And she taught me to re-think what I didn't like in my younger years because I may find it different now.  (And she's right!)  We share a love of adventurous eating, luxurious skin care products, zombie movies, shoes, dark chocolate, spicy foods and many other things. Neither of us will take guff from people, no sirree! As a matter of fact, she's a lot like "her mother".  

About the only thing I won't miss is her occasionally pouncing out from behind things and making me jump ... and cry.  Doesn't she understand how old I'm getting to be?

I'm confident that our goodbye isn't forever.  And if she gets accepted to the Canadian college of her choice, she could come home to NS for Christmas and/or I could go visit her in the big city more even more eating adventures.  

But how am I going to get through the next few months until I get used to life without her?  My heart is so full of pride and sadness.