It's my turn to leave on a jet plane....

It's 7:30 am Monday morning, and I sit here typing a sort of goodbye letter to everyone I love. It's official, I am picking up the tickets today.......... At 6:45 am tomorrow I'll be on a plane from Raleigh to NYC to begin my journey to Africa! Part of it has hit me, especially the part where I'll be traveling alone... (Tommy's passport has been held up in the Visa application process, so he'll be coming over HOPEFULLY before the end of the week) I've spent the better part of the last couple of days just crying, but not fully knowing why...... Part of it is due to the separation..... we haven't been separated for long since Tommy got home, and he's upset he can't get off the plane with me and start showing me the sites of Tripoli. He's made me promise to not let the boys take me out, cause he wants to be the one that shares what he spent 3 mos. over there doing. Part of it is traveling alone.... everyone knows I'm not a sissy, and have taken more road trips ALONE than not, and I've even flown without adult supervision as a child, but NEVER have I taken a trip as long as this one alone! It's nice to have someone to help you during your layover, when you're running from one end of the airport to another (especially when you've never been there before), or even just to keep you company on the long flights. Luckily I just started a new book, and I'll have another one handy in case I finish the first, and I'll have Tommy's old mp3 player, and I can load it full of music and listen to it when I don't feel like reading. Most of it is leaving my home.... leaving everything that is comfortable to me, my family, my friends, my old jobs, my hangouts, even my gaming friends. I'm embarking on a trip that's like none other, and my life will be changed from this moment forward. I'll be gone for 45 days or so, give or take how fast the project gets completed. That means we have to have someone watch the house, watch the cats, play with the cats, and take care of our day-to-day bills and whatnot that we cannot handle being almost 5,000 miles away! I won't have internet access (especially as fast as mine) ready when I want it, so communicating will be dificult. I love all my friends and family dearly, so not being able to keep in touch with them is hitting me pretty hard. All in all I have a VERY comfortable life here, only now I'm about to walk away from it to travel the world, and see and do things this 26 yr old never imagined having the opportunity to do! I've been on an extreme emotional rollercoaster for the past two days..... one minute I'm ready to jump out of my skin with excitement, the next I'll be crying like a baby, and can't control it. I just really want to tell everyone I love them, y'all know who you are...... to my Blogger friends, Myspace friends, real life friends, Scooby friends, my CoH friends, and to my family: I LOVE YOU AND I'LL MISS YOU! PLEASE, PLEASE KEEP IN TOUCH!! You can email me at aep_ecugirl@yahoo.com or gvegasbelle@gmail.com. I'll be checking both accounts as much as possible! MUAH!