Nigeria, Sept. 6 -- Our one and only daughter has gone off to college. Madam and I dropped her off the weekend before. As we made the four-hour drive from Houston to Baton Rouge along I-10, the road stretched ahead, both endless and fleeting, as if time itself were torn between holding on and letting go. Between bursts of laughter and quiet silences, we spoke of classes, friendships, boys, the discipline of focus, and, most importantly, the questions that shape a life, namely: the "whys" that she must never forget. Every word, every pause, was filled with the kind of love parents hope will echo in a child's heart long after they are gone. We tried to hide the ache of knowing she was no longer entirely ours.

Though it's barely two weeks s...