Washington, D.C. will never be the same. Elle (Caitlin) will be moving to Washington, D.C. in January to complete her college minor and work at an internship there. Go ahead and paint the town PINK, because it will NEVER be the same once "Elle" makes her imprint there!
Like a little bird who walks across a freshly fallen snow, Caitin has made her imprint across the memories, hearts and lives of all who have ever met her. There is no doubt in my mind that she will make her mark upon the memories of everyone she meets in our nation's capitol. I am really excited for this opportunity and new experience in her life, however, it brings to my mind one question..."Is Mom REALLY ready for Caitlin to jump out of that tower?" I use the "tower analogy" because when viewing the new Disney movie, "Tangled", we all decided that Caitlin not only looked like the star of the show, but was also very much like her in many other ways as well.
When she approached us with the opportunity to participate in an American Studies Program in Washington, D.C., we were not hesitant to let her pursue this endeavor. Even during the application process and eventual acceptance into the program, we were still extremely excited for her. It was only at some point during her Christmas break from school that the reality of the situation began to set in for me...my baby was going FAR AWAY for 3 1/2 months...WHAT THE HECK WAS I THINKING?! So, as time passed and I helped her pack and ship items to Washington, I became more and more anxious. Well, the day finally arrived this week when Robby and I were to fly with her to her new temporary home.
We had to drive to Houston a day early due to the fact that Robby's father was having surgery, so we would have a direct flight there...that was a good thing. Our flight was at 1'oclock....that was also a good thing. I was searching for all of the positives to focus on; not that Caitlin going to Washington wasn't "positive"...it was just the "unknown"; and for a mom, that was a little scary. We made it to the airport in plenty of time to check our luggage, get through security and relax before our flight. Caitlin was only allowed to bring 2 suitcases to this program...I KNOW...for 3 1/2 months! THAT was a challenge. So, what do you think Elle would do?...Why, find the largest suitcases she could in the attic...and stuff them full. For once, I packed more lightly and was actually quite proud of myself. That is until upon arriving in Houston, I found several of HER items in MY suitcase! So, as the airport attendant began to weigh each piece of luggage, we soon found that one of her suitcases was 8 pounds overweight...and the other 12 pounds! Standing with his hands on his hips, Robby simply instructed her to start "moving things around creatively" to get to the correct weight load. This was nothing new; we (she and I) had emptied many suitcases at the counter before...and so, clothes went flying as we stood watching in amazement at her "light packing". Finally completing this task, we moved inside and made it through security without any problems at all...THAT was definitely a good thing.
We had a little lay over, so we decided to sit in the President's Lounge while waiting. While there, Caitlin struggled to set her Kindle up on her i-pad. You see, she had 2 books that had to be read by the start of class on Monday...yep, you heard me right! There's nothing like putting something off to the last minute; but hey, I wouldn't expect anything less. So, it was when she was fiddlin' with her i-pad that I saw him... ELVIS entered the room! No kidding! This guy dressed like Elvis walked in and right over to a table. As I sat there (sort of in amazement that a grown man would dress like this...at least in public), I wondered how I could get a picture of him...without him noticing me doing it. Well, that didn't work. It was time to board the plane...we were about to be a little closer to dropping my baby off; this was going to be harder than I anticipated.
The flight was only half full, so we all had empty seats around us and was able to stretch out and actually enjoy the flight...another good thing. There were also in flight movies available...also good. So far, this day had gone well with a good many "good things" happening so far; was this a sign to me that everything was going to be OK? We landed in Washington and took a taxi to our hotel. I had booked a room as close as possible to Caitlin's new apartment and as we drove up, the view of the nation's capitol greeted us from just down the street. Tonight would be the last night for a while that Caitlin would be sleeping under our roof...or at least in the south. We found our way to our rooms and anticipated the next day, when we would actually get to SEE Caitlin's new apartment...
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