The Tao of Graeme: The REAL reason we are here....

"I got this, Dad!"

When you have kids your whole world changes. Your whole life changes. Your previous goals, priorities and reasons for being change. They all shift to a little human being that you instantly fall in love with and just as instantly have an irresistible instinctual longing and sense of urgency to provide this person with as many opportunities in life as humanly possible so that, when the time comes, they will be able to make choices for themselves and carve out an existence in this life that is far greater then yours has ever been or ever will be. Each waking moment is spent configuring ways to create and provide these opportunities for your child.

Today, August 13th 2014, Graeme started his first day at school at the ripe old age of 3 years 7 months old. He is attending Saigon South International School (SSIS) in the Early Childhood (EC) program. A full day (7:45a.m. - 3pm), it is a 2 year program based on the Emilia Reggio approach, which is based on the principles of respect, responsibility, and community through exploration and discovery in a supportive and enriching environment based on the interests of the children through a self-guided curriculum. Mixed with SSIS's Core Values - Academic Excellence, Sense of Self, Dedicated Service, Balance in Life and Respect for All. His teacher has 23 years of experience and has taught in several different countries and we couldn't be happier for him to be in her class.

Graeme was ready for this. In fact, I believe we could have put him on that bus a year ago and he'd be fine. He was so ramped up that he forgot to give me a hug and kiss goodbye. He was focused!

The bus stop crew....

We got this....

About a year and a half ago when we announced our plans to move abroad to Vietnam and start a new life, taking advantage of everything involved in living internationally. To some it came as a shock, to others it was almost expected. Our stock answer to those who asked "Why?" when we told them what we were doing was something along the lines of being able to travel, live a more family oriented life (no chores!), experience, opportunity for Graeme (and us) to see the world and other cultures in it we wouldn't otherwise be exposed to, blah, blah, blah. Most were content with the answers we gave. Some feigned their contentedness but you could tell they still did not "get it". Well, they say a "picture is worth a thousand words", and the photo above of Graeme waiting for the bus, proud as a peacock, wearing his new uniform, book bag loaded, and carrying his lunch box, should be enough to sum up our explanation as to "why?" we are doing this.

Providing the best education possible for your child is very high on the list of opportunities that every parent strives for. There are many different ways to accomplish this and all of us do the best that we can. We chose this route. As fans of public education in the U.S., the reality is that California is ranked 39th overall. Private education is tremendously expensive. Moving states just to get to a better ranked public education wasn't on our radar. Working 60 hours a week to tread water and basically stay afloat without ever getting ahead while watching life pass you by wasn't appealing to us.

We are able to provide a top notch private education for Graeme all the while exposing him to various world cultures and getting to spend maximum time together as a family unit.

If I had to sum up "why" we are here, that would probably be the best sentence to do so. This is a mission statement that we would, at best, struggle to provide Graeme back in the USA, or not be able to provide at all.

As the saying goes "nothing in life is free". Yes, his education is provided for as a benefit to Erin's position at SSIS. Yes, it is very easy to travel to many exotic places from where we live. But, we live on the other side of the world from our Family and Friends. That is the cost we are paying for this opportunity. Those closest to us understand. If not, I hope the the pictures here of Graeme on his first day of school will help provide the understanding. While we are missing out on some Birthday's, Weddings and other milestones, the fact is we are doing our best to equip Graeme with best opportunities in this life so that he can further on and carve out an existence that will provide happiness for himself beyond our wildest dreams.

We are doing our best and trying our hardest to provide Graeme with the best, as all parents do for their children. So, on this day, August 13, 2014 Erin and I are the proudest parents on earth. Here is to the future......