Thoughts upon her return...

Day 1573 - my daughter is back after almost two months abroad. I didn't see her yet but I will in a few days. This trip is almost mandatory for the youth here after getting out of their military service; almost like a rite of passage. But as we discovered it can be very trying and not a cookey cutter. Everyone is different and has different needs and tolerance for extreme conditions. above all her timing was not the best. With two big earthquakes it is literally a ground shaking experience. She was lucky enough to leave Nepal two days before but it was still too close and shook her to the core. But I think that at the end of the day, this trip is so very important. You have the ultimate freedom on one hand and the feeling of invinsibility and on the other hand you push yourself to the limit and really learn a lot about yourself, what you are made of, what are your needs and what is too far. I am so happy she went through this experience but more than anything else I am so thankful she is back and unharmed. I didn't think of it as such but these past few weeks proved that even survival is not a given in that part of the world and under these conditions.