It's All About Connections....

TCK.

It seems as if it's THE buzz phrase in international education these days. Expat children are growing us a Third Culture Kids. We saw this when we lived in Saudi Arabia for four years. Most of our kids were from Pakistan and India, yet they attended an American curriculum school and talked like they were from the Midwest or California. They didn't belong in their "home" countries, yet they didn't belong in America... they belonged in a third culture which seemed very ambiguous.

Maddie's dad an I are always talking about how we are choosing to raise Maddie. We want her to grow up internationally to have first hand contact with other cultures on a daily basis, yet we recognize the value of what we grew up with. Looking back, we both value all of the connections we made when we were growing up. Andy values the time spent with family when they went camping every summer. I value all of the memories I have with family growing up. Growing up means family. Maddie has us when we are overseas, but there is nothing quite like the connections that she nourishes when she comes home for the summers.

When Elena, Maddie's cousin, walked in the door today around lunch time, Maddie's eyes just sparkled. I was curious if Maddie would remember Elena as it's been almost a full year since seeing her. Maddie clearly recognized her as she didn't hesitate to start telling Elena about her world. Maddie downright SHINED when she realized that both of the them were calling grandma just that..... "Grandma, can we make some cookies" they almost said in unison. Now that doesn't happen everyday!!!!

Elena took great care with Maddie and in my mind showed an amazing amount of patience with my jet-lagging three year old daughter. Even when Maddie used the bubble solution to water the flowers, Elena was brilliant. They built trains together and Elena even taught Maddie how to throw a Frisbee for the first time. The greatest find was when they were in the crawl space and found a wooden rocking chair about Maddie size. They soon found out from Grandma Barbara that her dad had made it for her. Amazingly, Grandma Barbara said that Maddie could take that rocking chair to her new bedroom in her new house. I had to run upstairs and shed a tear for a minute (I am pregnant after all) because that's a connection for Maddie - a connection that I pray she never takes for granted because not all people are lucky enough to have those connections.

What a joyous day!!! It really is all about the connections....