"Watch well over your seed children!
Speak wisely to these our new children!
They will be your first speakers and the
peacemaking shields of your people."
— Zuni tribe
"When my friend Kathy Martin sent her son, Jeff, off to Columbia University in New York City, she put him on the plane, went home, and cleaned his room for hours, just sobbing and sobbing. After so much anticipation during his senior year, she was exhausted and had not had time to take in the feelings of this important transition in her and Jeff's lives.
"When a child leaves home, there is such a mix of feelings – sadness that a chapter is closing, joy that the child has succeeded in reaching an important milestone, fear of the child's future without parents standing by, hope that what has been taught will serve to support the child in his independent life. If we have done well, our 'seed children' will indeed become 'the peacemaking shields' honoring all of us with their intelligent choices and strong bodies. – V. Lang"
