Leaving

Well this time it was weird.  And by weird, I mean that this week I got to experience the other side of leaving.  Usually, I'm the one leaving for someplace new and exciting.  Leaving for university, leaving for Paris with Barbara, leaving for Cape Town to study, leaving for London with my dad, leaving for Cape Town again, leaving Cape Town to go home, leaving Columbia for STL.....  The trip to the airport usually contains my close family and my suitcases in the backseat.  I'm ready for the next adventure, the beautiful new scenery and the challenges that lie ahead.  And yes, I'm always sad to leave behind people I love, but I also know that modern technology makes communication with them pretty darn easy.

But this time, I wasn't the one leaving.

Yes, we went to the airport, but the backseat didn't have my bags in it. No, this time I had to say goodbye to one of my 3 sisters leaving for my home country.

In a lot of ways, Alyssa and I are alike--same music, same clothes, same nail polish colors, same jewelry, same hair, same faith, same views on life, same love of sugary batter, etc etc.  The only thing that isn't the same is our shoe size (and trust me, that's a huge bummer).  Her leaving means me saying goodbye to my other half.  She finishes my sentences, understands my rambling jargon and doesn't leave when I start dancing in the kitchen.

It's funny, sending her off to the good old US of A...I feel like I'm the one at home saying goodbye to her and wishing her well on her new epic adventure to foreign lands.  Life here will remain the same for us (minus her of course), but she'll be meeting new people, seeing new sights and having new adventures.  It's exciting and I'm SUPER amped and happy for her, but I'll surely be missing my other half.

Guess this is what it's like for my family and friends back home...always having to say goodbye, not knowing when you'll see them again.  It's not exactly fun, but the promise of adventure and learning new things, keep me excited to see where this journey takes my little lizard breath (sorry lyss, I had too:) )

So Bon Voyage my seester!  I can't wait to see where your next adventure takes you, love you and miss you already.