Saturday, March 7, 2009

少了一個小孩! Missing my daughter!

My 9 year-old daughter went to a horse camp this weekend. She went with her Junior Scout troop. It's the second time she has spent the night away from home. Two years ago, she did an over-night backyard camp with her Brownies troop girls. But she was only 5 minutes away from me. This time, she is in Bonsall, at least 2 hours away from our house. It's a strange feeling to have only one child in the house. Although I miss having my daughter around the house, I feel lighter. Instead of the responsibility of taking care of two kids, for today, I only have to worry about the immediate needs of one child.

I have been checking the weather channel since last week for the weather condition of Bonsall. I'm so glad that the rain forecasted for this weekend was not realized. I worry whether my daughter knows to put on an extra layer of clothing when the temperature drops at night. I worry about the dry, itchy condition of her face, especially around her eyes. I wonder whether she will put the cream that I had packed for her on her face. With all the wondering, I also know that this is a good experience for her. She won't have a mother hovering over her, making every decision for her. Whether good or bad, she will have to solve any problems that she encounters on her own.

早上起床後就覺得很輕鬆。今天我少了一個小孩。昨天我的女兒跟她的女童子軍隊去了 Bonsall (San Diego) 附近的一個馬術農場露營。 Bonsall 離我家有兩個小時的車程,所以還算蠻遠的。 我擔心她晚上冷的時候不會自己多加一件衣服。我擔心她皮膚乾的時候不會塗我幫她準備好的乳霜。再怎麼樣,遠水也救不了近火,所以只能期待她能展現她的應變能力,有辦法解決自己碰到的問題。不過我想我的擔心是多餘的。想一想,這趟露營活動也是女兒成長過程中必經的路。這就是住在美國的小孩,幸福、自由的地方。

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