Dear Daughter L,
Tomorrow at 5 a.m. you are leaving on your first lengthy school field trip. Without me. While I hope you have a grand time this week in Washington, DC, I want to pause a moment in sheer disbelief that I have a daughter old enough to go somewhere without me for more than a day. Simultaneously, I am having panic flashbacks to the long orchestra and debate trips that I had when I was just a smidge older than you. Watch out for cute boys in the back of the bus, be leery of the restroom facilities in buses (and sitting near them is a definite don't), keep a wary eye out for practical jokes while you are sleeping on the bus. Try to absorb some knowledge about the nation's capital in the midst of the ever evolving and revolving social drama that is 8th grade. Please don't watch late night t.v. in the hotel room. Know that we love you AND that we know you will miss us even though you'd rather pluck out your eyelashes than admit it. Bon voyage and see you Friday!

*******

In other--but semi-related--news, my brother Chris has received his Peace Corps assignment to Mali. (My kids are especially excited that Timbuktu is in Mali.) Can't believe the Peace Corps thinks that my ten-year-old brother is old enough to do natural resource work for the Malian government until I remember he's actually 27. It's an I-feel-old day.