She's ready to go. She's standing there beside the door, and she will have to wake me up to say good bye. The dawn is breakin, it's early morn, Dad's waiting, blowing the horn. Already I'm so excited I could die!
...Cause she's leaving on a jet plane. I know when she'll be back again. And I am glad that she will go...
Forgive me, John Denver for mucking up your words, but where you were so sad to be leaving, I am not sad. No, quite the contrary, I am so excited. Obviously, I am not keen on Ashlyn being away from me for four months. I will miss her so very much. There will be no surprise weekend visits. She will not be here to cheer the Cowboys on to Super Bowl victory. Emmitt will not have someone to love him unconditionally.
But, Ashlyn will have adventure and culture and pubs. She will take on London as she took on Chicago, with delight.
This is Ashlyn's fourth trip to Europe. That sounds so ridiculous. The first trip was on Uncle Sam's dime and she lived there for four years. Her second trip was to Ireland with the Valley Marchmasters. Ashlyn marched in the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Dublin. The third trip was just a few weeks after her final surgery related to her treatment for leukemia. That trip was her victory tour.
And now, she heads to London to study at The London College of Fashion at the University of Arts of London. So you can see why I am not sad. I am thankful. Thankful that the travel bug bit her nearly at birth. Ashlyn drove cross country when she was three months old. She visited seven countries before she was seven. She has been on three of the seven continents.
Thankful that her grades are where they needed to be to qualify for this program. A job well done has always mattered to her. That ethic has taken her to Chicago for a summer and now, London.
But most of all, just thankful that this incredible young lady that I had a hand in creating is able to seek adventure.
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