o HIGH o

Alex is so HIGH she has turned sassy and giddy. She is so in love with o HIGH o (as pronounced by Alex)- she has blown off her Mom. She is done with me and done with Colorado, or so she says.

Alex is at the University of Cincinnati for the week and will be staying with the family of her roommate. However due to our travel arrangements Susan and April very kindly hosted Alex for a night. They are a very welcoming and fun family, Alex had a blast. I am still waiting to hear if she developed a crush on one of April's handsome brothers.

Thanks to http://aprilanecdotes.wordpress.com/ for the picture

Alex is very independent and I do not pack for her anymore - nor do I even check her suitcase. I have no idea what she took to Cincinnati, but I am sure she packed well. She always does carry-on and transfers her toiletries to small containers. She packs better than any of us

However, one of the few things left on Alex's road to independence is flying. Alex has never flown by herself, and that makes me very nervous. In order to get to Cincinnati we had to switch in Salt Lake City so I spent the five hours of air travel going over the "getting around the airport" lessons.  She will fly home by herself on Sunday (a direct from Louisville - my sister will collect her in Cincinnati on Friday). I will meet her at the arrivals in Denver. I am cautiously hopeful.

A strange sort of sadness has engulfed me. Perhaps I am tired from the the overnight trip I made to Cincinnati with Alex . Perhaps I am exhausted from the 12 hour travel day I had today...or perhaps this is really an awareness of how much I will miss Alex. She is my light, my smile and my humor everyday, and now she is leaving the nest. I promised Alex on the the day she was born that she would have the life she dreamed for and I would make it happen....this first success is bittersweet.