General News
6 February, 2025
A Mum's world: tracking our daughter's 20-hour flight to Bangladesh
'Life can be pretty challenging, can't it?' says Yolande Grosser.
A part of my heart is in Bangladesh at present.
That tiny little premature IVF baby girl of ours, who was safely delivered into our arms via emergency caesarean nearly 23 years ago, is on her first overseas assignment for work.
Now a five-foot-eight blonde, she has been warned she will be noticed.
Every time I talk about Katianna's employment, I say that she's working in communications, then I qualify it by explaining, "she's using her degree".
When my bridesmaid and I caught up for a four-hour lunch over summer, she laughed out loud as I did this.
Why?
Because when we both graduated with a Bachelor of Education after four years of study as poor students, there were no jobs in teaching.
I went into the media and Jodie went into the training industry.
With that struggle more than three decades behind us, I still get a kick out of knowing Katianna's $45,000 Bachelor of Communications has set her up with the skills to actually be employed in her field of interest where she can keep learning on the job.
Most of my eldest daughter's luggage space was taken up with cameras, recording devices and other technical gear, leaving just enough room for the clothing required to cover up and her stash of medication to stove off illness.
She has been very focused on mosquitoes in recent weeks whilst feeling like a pincushion after all her vaccinations and trying to avoid all the news of airline crashes on the telly.
Katianna arrived safely at her destination though, after 20 hours of travel, and she's staying in touch via our family group chat.
Kym was tracking her flights, and as an aircraft technician, he was all over models and makes.
The world is such a crazy old place, and life can be pretty challenging, can't it?
We are all proud of our children, no matter what, but it's such a relief when you realise that it's going to be alright.
If they can get and hold a job, they should be able to pay their bills and eat.
Safety conscious about eating the wrong thing in Bangladesh, Katianna might have lost sight of the severe lack of bushfires and flooding in that particular country at present.