So, my baby sister left today.
She got on a plane with a backpack and a one way ticket and tootled off to Europe.
I'm really going to miss her, she's been living near me for the last few months, working her butt off slaving over a hot grill to save to leave for the exotic delights overseas and the date just crept up so suddenly, and now she just logged off for take off.
Just the same as I did 15 years ago.
With a back pack and a one way ticket, a camera with film, a hotmail account and what felt like a small fortune in hard earned dollars in the bank, off I went travelling solo. I had a two year visa, I told my mum I'd be back in 6 months and I was gone for nine years.
Ok, I lied, sorry mum.
Those were the days my friends, I look back now and I cant believe my youthful bravery. So young, hopeful and confident. The world at my feet.
She will have a lifetime of memories from these adventures. I am so excited for her as her departure brings it all back to me now.
She's smarter and a bit older than I was, and I'm betting that she wont come home with a husband and two babies, but its the vibe.
Travel is such an incredible gift, T,D&H and I were just talking the other day about how we're a bit behind with where you'd expect a late 30s couple to be at. We just bought our first home a couple of years ago for example. But we agreed without hesitation that we wouldnt change a thing. Those hedonistic days of international exploration are part of our little family's tapestry. We came back to Australia without a penny, but there is no price we could put on the way things unfolded for us.
So off she goes with her seat reclined and a little plastic tumbler of house chardy in hand and she really has no idea the delights that await, not just in her immediate future but the memories she'll dine out on for the rest of her days.
Bye bye baby!!
