I’ve been trying to wrap my mind around this whole “mom of a senior”  thing all year.  Although I have not yet had the time to start writing the book that compares the 10 months of pregnancy to the 10 months of birthing an “adult,” I am certain with every fiber of my being that I am currently in the third trimester, experiencing full-on Braxton Hicks and all that uncomfortable stuff that happens while you are somewhat scared of what the future holds but completely ready to kick the alien devouring your space out of your body and into the world.

The trip to Ghana that I begin today initially was to take place in November, similar to prior trips.  However, plans changed, ideas changed, the focus changed and it so happened to land in the space of time just before the busiest, most emotional month that I’ve seen in a long time.  In addition to high school graduation, the stars aligned to include moving and getting a new puppy.  (WHAT?) However, instead of thinking of our school’s most recent trip to Ghana as adding to the chaos, I am choosing to think of it instead as a harbor, a space in time requiring selfless action and reflection.  This is no trip of relaxation.  Rather it is a bunch of long, hot, boring days highlighted by the ability to connect, help and learn from a culture on a completely different level than your own.  The goal was first to get our sister school’s village safe with clean water and knowledgable hygiene practices.  Now we’ve moved to sharing some deeper thinking practices in the school in order to prepare a future that includes more girls going to secondary school and hopefully to university.  When I consider this prospect, I am thrilled with the full circle of investing in a girl’s future as I celebrate and acknowledge the privilege I have of my own graduating and moving on to university.  Education is the answer to everything, amen?

A watershed moment is an event that turns the action of future events.  I’m praying for this trip to be a watershed in that it provides future hope for a secondary school close to the village, that the curriculum strategies we share are instrumental in future development in our sister school and that I am once again intuned with the simple Ghanian mindset and lifestyle.  In this helping of others, I hope to get my own mind wrapped around the changes that are down the road with the girl that drives me crazy while making my heart whole all at the same time.

One of the seven largest watersheds in Africa is located in Ghana.  It’s called the Volta Region.  Likewise, Volta in poetry means a turn or a rhetorical shift or dramatic change.  If I’m looking for a watershed, it looks like I’m headed in the right direction!