Happy Birthday Leanne!!

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My daughter Leanne turns 22 tomorrow. She is currently in S. Korea and is celebrating her birthday today as Korea is one day ahead of us.

She has had quite an experience living and working in S. Korea. She has learned so much. She has learned how to teach 4th & 5th graders, how to deal with children who don’t want to be there, adjusted to Korean culture, made new friends, adjusted to different weather and living in a very big dense city. Many changes! She has handled them all so well. She will be coming home in December. In just about 3 months I will be able to see her in person, give her a hug and welcome her back home.

This is the first birthday she has not been with family. So many changes come in life as your children grow. This is not the first time one of my children has not been home during their birthday or holidays. But it never gets easier! I miss her very much, but, am so proud of her work and accomplishments and thankful that she has been able to live out her dreams.

She decided a few years ago that she wanted to go to another country to live and teach. She earned her BA in English (in less than 3 years), and then earned her certificate to teach English as foreign language, volunteered her time at the local community college in their Teaching English as a Second Language program to gain experience, then began to apply for a job. She was hired after her first interview. A lot of dedication and time spent pursuing a goal and she is now living it. I know she continues to have goals and plans and will pursue these. And as I sit back as her mother and reflect on the years since she was born, I am in awe of the woman she has become.


A pic of Leanne taken before she left last year…



A current picture of her and a co-worker…



A fun picture of her at her school…

Leanne and a few friends/coworkers took a trip to Japan this summer....





Happy Birthday Leanne!! I love you!!
 


Comments

  1. MonicaSeptember 7, 2013 at 7:23 AM

    A beautiful young lady and a wonderful experience!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousSeptember 7, 2013 at 7:22 PM

    Watching them grow up and leave is a bittersweet thing. Beautiful because that. Is the very thing we raise them to do and sad because we miss them.

    What a wonderful learning experience for her.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. CrystalSeptember 7, 2013 at 9:13 PM

      So true Shara! I think of this every time one more leaves the nest! :)

      Delete

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