The day has come! My daughter Laura moves to British Columbia today. When this post goes live, I’ll be at our local airport dropping her off for the first leg of her flight to her new home. I’ve never done well with seeing people off at airports, but I expect this one to be much more difficult. Goodbyes are never easy.
Welcome to week 28 of The Sunday Spark, a series with weekly thoughts and highlights, nuggets of learning, and a sustainable living tip for the week. Also this week: paper bags made from leaves, candy bars packaged in recycled paper, resources needed for electric vehicle batteries, and week 3 of Plastic Free July.
The Sunday Spark – Week 28
On my mind this week: Goodbyes are never easy
As parents, it’s our job to raise our kids to be independent adults. We give them wings to fly, but it’s really difficult when they fly far away from the coop.
When my daughter Laura first told me she was applying for a job in British Columbia, I wasn’t surprised. You see, when she was 15, we went on a family vacation to British Columbia and Alberta. She told me then, “I love it here. I will live here one day.” We were in Vancouver when she said those words. Her new home is about 400 kilometres from Vancouver, compared to 4,000 kilometres from Ontario to Vancouver.
Could go anywhere
Laura has always had an adventurous spirit. It’s one of the things I love the most about her. At one time, her Twitter handle was “couldgoanywhere”. So, while I always knew this day would come, it’s still hard. Really hard.
I keep reminding myself that she’s been living away from home since she left for college five years ago. Even so, until today just knowing that I could hop in my car and be there in an hour if she needed me gave me some comfort. It won’t be so easy now. Visits will require planning and two plane rides.
Even so, I’m happy for her and I understand why she’s going. I’ve given her wings to fly, and now I need to see where she goes.
I’ll end with these lyrics from a beautiful song from a movie we loved when Laura was younger. If you need me, I’ll be here in the corner with my Kleenex.
Butterfly fly away (Butterfly fly away)
Butterfly Fly Away – Hannah Montana: The Movie
Got your wings, now you can’t stay
Take those dreams and make them all come true
Let’s keep in touch! Join my mailing list and I’ll email you when I add a new post.
Three highlights of the week
It’s important to celebrate big milestones and simple pleasures in life. Keeping the trend going, here are three highlights and simple pleasures of the week gone by:
- Last weekend, in between disassembling IKEA furniture and packing boxes, I enjoyed a lovely lunch out with my daughters. By the way, my daughter Colleen made quick work of disassembling the bed. Who needs IKEA’s instructions anyway? Now, it’s in our garage while we figure out what to do with it.
- I went into our head office in Toronto on Wednesday for the first time in over three years. While I was there, I had a chance to meet a couple of my co-workers in person for the first time.
- Oh yes, it was my birthday this week, too. I spent part of the day with Laura, and we got all her boxes to UPS for shipping and did a few errands. When I got home, we had takeout for dinner. The day ended with a surprise birthday email from someone I used to work with who I hadn’t heard from in years.
Three things I learned this week
Life is all about learning. Here are three things I learned this week:
Paper bags made from leaves
A Ukrainian company is using fallen leaves to make paper bags. Releaf says their bags save 78% of carbon emissions and use 15 times less water compared to paper bags made from trees. (Source: The Carbon Almanac)
Candy bars packaged in recycled paper
Nestle has announced a pilot program to package Mars bars in recycled paper, instead of the non-recyclable plastic they currently used. If you live in the UK, you can find these Mars bars at your local Tesco. (Source: Happy Eco News) I love Mars bars, so this makes me smile! Here in Canada, Nestle has been packing Smarties in paper for a while now.
Resources needed for electric vehicle batteries
Increased adoption of electric vehicles means demand for lithium is expected to increase by 3,000 to 7,000 percent by 2050. At the same time, demand for nickel, cobalt and manganese is also expected to increase by thousands of percent. (Source: CBC News)
It will be interesting to see if the world can meet this demand or if other alternatives to electric vehicles will emerge.
Sustainable living tip: Plastic Free July – Week 3
Check my handy downloadable calendar for simple changes you can make this Plastic Free July. Here are seven items to consider for week three:
- Pack your own travel snacks
- Give toothpaste tablets a try
- Swap your stain remover for a stain remover bar
- Refill your printer cartridges
- Brew your own iced tea
- Replace your night cream with coconut oil
- Pack a set of reusable cutlery in a travel pouch and keep it in your car or purse
I’d love to hear your thoughts on any of this week’s topics. Drop me a comment below and let me know your thoughts and ideas.
Happy birthday, Michelle! Oh, it must be so hard to see a child move away, even though it’s such a sign of parenting success. I’ve had a moment of sadness just imagining it with my little ones and also cheering everyone on! What an interesting note about electric vehicles. Thanks for another great edition of the Sunday Spark.
Thanks Wynne. It is difficult, although I think I cried more when she moved away to college even though she was only an hour away. I suppose the difference is that, 5 years later, I know she’ll be okay. We FaceTimed with her last night and she showed us around her apartment.
You’ve done your job well if your daughter is confident enough to move far away without fear. Like you, I’ve always admired that same quality in our son. We’re going through a bit of a transition right now. He married in early June, took a new job, and now lives close to 2,000 miles away. Of course, we miss him like crazy, but just knowing he’s happy makes up for all of it. As I’ve always said to my wife, “I’d be much more worried about him if he felt like he had to be close to us.”
You’re right Pete. I need to keep reminding myself that it’s good that Laura is an independent adult! And I’ll just have to plan some trips out west to see her.
So important to take some time for yourself Michelle, to settle into the new normal with daughter so far away. 2 times in 2 years and I’ve survived but I so agree that it is one of the hardest things a parent will ever do. I wish the best for your daughter though as BC is beautiful and just to my north, although I was a child the last time I was there.
It is very difficult. She arrived safely and I’m sure she’s busy checking out her new place and exploring the area. I’m happy to have a busy week ahead as I prepare for our upcoming vacation. That will take my mind off things.
I hope it will help to know that she is in a place that she chose and that feels perfect to her. Keeping busy does help, but it’s okay to have those hard moments too. It’s also okay if it never feels quite right, just a bit incomplete without her nearby, but time does help and knowing she is doing well. Hugs!
Sending hugs your way…I’m terrible with the ‘goodbye moments’, too. Take good care of yourself today…lots of love to you and to Laura! 💕💕💕
Thanks Vicki! It worked out well that last Christmas, I had bought tickets for this afternoon’s matinee performance of my favourite musical – Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. I spent the afternoon with my mum, my sister-in-law, and my mother-in-law. It’s hard to feel sad watching that musical. It was a great diversion!
You’re so smart! What’s better than a beloved musical as a distraction! Brilliant!
xo! 🥰
Right. My sixth sense must have been in gear when I bought those tickets last December.
Oh my! Yes indeed! 🥰
I agree. Goodbyes can be very challenging and sad… Deep breath in. And deep breath out. My heart goes out to you and your adventurous daughter! Glad to hear about a company (and in a war-torn country, no less) using leaves to make bags. Leaves are amazing! Plants grow SOLAR COLLECTORS every year and then these same solar collectors become fully biodegradable when they fall to the ground. I also am a fan of toothpaste tablets and of packing my own travel snacks (yesterday I cut up celery and combined it with some spicy cashews — YUM!) I end with another deep breath in. And deep breath out.
Thanks Will! I’m happy for Laura but will definitely miss her. Yes, I will be packing my toothpaste tablets and bar products for our upcoming vacation. They’re so great for travelling.
Happy belated birthday! Great tips, as always. I am sure your daughter will have wonderful new experiences and come to see you loads.
Thanks Jamie. Laura will be home over the Christmas holidays, so I will look forward to that. I’m excited to hear about her new adventures.