Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.

Jaz leaves in ten days! Over the past few months, it has sometimes felt like the day of departure would never come, and now it's almost here.

I knew that at some point my excitement (and envy) about Jaz's plans would be overshadowed by my own anxieties and awareness of how much I will miss her. Yikes! She's about to fly away to a third-world country on the other side of the world and her plane ticket is open-ended, so we don't know for sure when she'll be back home. Actually, I'm not any more worried about her safety than I would be if she were going off to college or headed to another "first world" country. I have great confidence that she will have a valuable and rewarding experience, and I also know she may have moments of frustration or homesickness or general unhappiness, and I wish I could spare her the unpleasant experiences. But it's not possible - or even desireable - to spare your kids all discomfort and misery; how else would they learn how strong and capable they are?

I am quite sure she'll be fine, and Steve and I will be fine, but all of our lives are about to change significantly. Jaz will be far more independent than she's ever been (and she's always been pretty damn independent!) and Steve and I are about to live alone as a couple for the first time in our lives. Luckily, I think we're all up to the challenge...

Best of all, I offer you a link to her blog here!

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