Adventure Girl, Grown

My youngest flies to Rome this evening, where she will visit literary and historical sites with other students as inspiration to write poetry, fiction and personal narrative for a month. I'm glad she enjoys writing; my son would stab his eyeballs if he had to do this, even in Rome! For this, the students will earn six college credits—two courses towards their degree for a month of creative writing and culinary exploration. Not a bad deal.

You'd think it would get easier to let her go. Instead, my nature is to obsess on details like reminding her to call the bank to let them know she'll be abroad so they don't put a freeze on her card and adding international texting to her phone while she says with exaggerated patience and a bit of eye rolling, "Mom, I'm actually grown."

We went shopping yesterday afternoon for things like a messenger bag with lots of zippers and hidden pockets (the better to foil pickpockets) and some pretty rad sunglasses. You know, the necessities. My girl also picked up a ten dollar fedora on a whim, calling it her Indiana Jones adventure hat. I'd say she's ready!