There goes my baby...

He's 13 so, technically, he's not a "baby" but he'll always be "my baby". I've spent the better part of my afternoon, since leaving work, to get him packed so that I can put him on a plane tomorrow at 12:24pm and send him Alaska!

Don't get me wrong, I'm excited for him and for the adventures he'll have and all the experiences he'll get to have. I'll be sad not to be able to see him or squeeze his neck for a whole month and I will miss him greatly but I can live through that...he'll be back in July and work keeps me busy. The hardest part is going to be watching him fly away at 12:24pm tomorrow on a plane that will go to Chicago and land and that he'll have to change planes BY HIMSELF, get to the next gate and get on another plane to Seattle BY HIMSELF. Then, he'll make it to Anchorage where my mom will be waiting. Until that last statement has been accomplished, him in Anchorage with my mom, I will be a nervous wreck!

Growing up...watching your kids grow up...is so difficult. It goes back to the first day of pre-school conundrum. You want them to do well...go into the classroom and get to playing. But, as moms, we kind of want them to grab on to our legs and beg us not to go. Because, them not doing that means that we've done too good of a job and they don't "need" us. We always want our kids to be independent but a tiny part of us always want them to somehow, someway need us. So, watching that aircraft fly away with my pre-schooler in it as he waves good-bye confidently ready to tackle the next two plane changes and "any fool that tries to mess with him" (his words) means I did too good of a job and he doesn't "need" me anymore. Tear.

I'll keep everyone updated with his progress because, yes, I will not sleep a wink until 4am Thursday morning and until I know he's landed in Anchorage and my mom is there and has his hand in hers. I'll post pictures of him in Alaska as she feeds them to me via her iphone.

Be excited for him. Pray for his mom. ;-)