Globe Trotters

Where do the kids get it from? OK, can’t really say that we have raised two boys who are growing up with the "American Dream" of a white picket fence, front porch and an Oak tree with a swing. Instead we are blessed with global nomads and citizens of the world, who have a Vampire’s thirst of Acqua Della Vita (uhm....Water of Life... for those not versed in Italian).

Aidan is right now planning his gap year, which will kick off in June after graduation, with a class trip to Bangkok and Koh Samui, Thailand; followed by a trek through Australia, New Zealand, and possibly one or two other countries like Vietnam and Korea. Along the way we hope that he will engage in community projects and part time jobs.

Aric and he are busy planning the trip. Once he returns to civilization he will embark on University of Arizona for a major in Industrial Design. That’s the plan and he is sticking to it…apparently.

Hunter has told us that with Aidan’s exit from Dubai, he is less than interested in staying here for his last two years of IB / high school. Hunter wants to get in touch with his Danish roots and attend a high school in Copenhagen, which teaches the IB diploma program in English. There are two or three options and is conditioned upon him living in a boarding school. We are fully aware that his idea of studying in Denmark entails living with his best friend Jonathan in an apartment somewhere in Copenhagen, but that just doesn’t reflect in Aric’s and my vision of separating from parents. That aint how we roll! So we have laid a few quid pro quos on him. I’m frantically communicating with several Danish counsellors to see if Hunter can in fact get in to the school and boarding programs.

If all this comes to fruition, we will have to take up Yoga or golf; because boy will we have END (empty nest disorder) with too much time on our hands. I’m considering starting up a Mothers Who Can’t Face Their Boys Leaving Home - support group. It will either require numerous boxes of tissues or a Martini Mixer kit; I haven’t decided what emotional reaction I might experience. The boys have left their [big] foot prints in the Arabian sand and at minimum they take a bucketful of experience and memories with them on their path of life.