What You Need
- A gathering of close friends and family
- A celebratory meal
- A camera
- Personal letters
What You Do
Invite close friends and family to a send-off dinner at the child's home. After dinner, gather in a circle and light a candle to be passed around. Ask each person to take the candle in hand and speak from his heart words of blessing, congratulations, loss, whatever he is feeling. Then, offer a toast such as this one: "We trust you to make good choices, to honor your body, to engage your mind, to follow your dream. Go forward in love and light, knowing we hold you in our hearts with every step you take."
Take pictures of each person at the dinner. Later, take the photos and frame them in a composite frame or cut and paste them into a collage of all the people who love him. You may want to add personal sentiments under each picture or a group wish like "We love you and trust you. We are with you in spirit every day of your life." This will remind the new student of all the love and support that go with him to his new dormitory room.
If photos are a challenge, ask each person to bring to the gathering a personal letter to the student to be put in a scrapbook for the student to read during the often lonely first year away from home. Life's Little Instruction Book started out as a father's words to his son as the young man set out in life. Take the time to make your letter your heart's best effort.
— Virginia Lang, Louise Nayer in How to Bury a Goldfish