Pride and Sadness - A Tale of Two Daughters

So first the pride - my oldest daughter finished her third year of college today.  I'm so proud of her because of all that she's been through over the past three years.  Bad boyfriends, unprofessional professors, a transfer and a change of major, and she's still super positive about everything in her life.  I love my Bailey.  She's imperfect perfection, my first baby, and her own individual person no matter what.  She loves anything Irish, animals, her freedom, books (finally) and romantic movies.  

Bailey at the Holi Color Festival at UNCA

Now the sadness.  My second daughter, Marley, has been wanting to come to Abu Dhabi with me on my new teaching adventure.  Her father was not for it, and after debating with me for the last three months, he has finally said no for good.  I cannot take her out of the country without his consent, and I refuse to turn this into a court battle, because the only person that would get hurt would be Marley.  He feels that she should stay in this little suburb of a mediocre city and become one of the "regular" kids going to the "regular" high school.  Marley is not and never has been "regular".  She is highly creative, mature for her age in most aspects, and has very little tolerance for the drama and ridiculousness associated with most high schoolers, and girls in particular.  This decision is a bad one, and I know that he will regret it within six months of my leaving.  Hopefully he sees that he's wrong, but if he still insists on keeping her here, I will do my best to be as involved as I possibly can in her life.  I just can't imagine being without three of my four children on a regular basis (my son's not coming because logistically speaking, it will mess up his senior year and his IB diploma).

The lovely Marley

I know that this move is the best thing in the long run, but in the short term, it will be harder than I thought it would be.  I just have to look forward to Christmas, when we are planning a trip to the UK with all the kids. Bailey will finally make it to Ireland, where she has always dreamed of going, and Ty and I will be able to indulge our rabid Anglophilia in London.  Jon looks forward to touring the Guinness factory, and I'm sure Marley will just be happy to be on vacation and explore a new place.

My son Ty and his prom date - oh the humor!