It's Official...

God willing, Shannon will be going to study in UC Irvine next fall!  It's official.  Last Saturday (April 16, 2011) she filed her letter of intent.  Yesterday she applied for housing.  One by one details of her going to college are popping up like mushrooms...and everything requires that we give a credit card number - but all are exciting.  She is thinking of getting a new bike as her means of transportation around campus. 

Since she was admitted in the honors program she will get to stay in housing dedicated for students in this program.  She found out today that the dorm is provided with a common kitchen.  Students can choose to cook when they want to.  This reminds me of Sibly Hall where I stayed during part of my time in Reading. During meal preparation time our kitchen emitted smells that combined African, Asian, European and Indian cuisines.  The worst days were when the students from Nigeria received their care packages from home that contained dried meat of some animal that I could not tell.  The meat was so hard that it required all day of boiling to hydrate and cook.  The kitchen and the hallway would smell funny for at least a couple of days...But to some, it was comforting.

Reality has set in.  Now all of us have started imagining how life will be when Shannon goes to college.   Her absence in the home will change us all.  It appears that her attitude has changes from this-is-my-chance-to-go-away mentality to how-will-life-be-away-from-home.  The practical aspects of her going to college have become an important topic of conversation around the house. 

When she applied for the different universities we asked God that He would guide us in choosing the right place for her.   I did not imagine how He would have made it clear to us but now I know.  UCI was not her choice nor was it ours (Tim and I) but at the moment, it seems that it is God's choice and by his grace it will be done.