Baby Sister: College Bound

“Goodbye, said the fox. And now here is my secret, a very simple secret. It is only with the heart that one can see rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye." ― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

Last week, I hugged my youngest sister for the last time until Christmas.

Today she is setting off on her newest, biggest adventure--attending an out-of-state college.

I shake my head and wonder how I'm old enough already that my baby sister is in college.  And then it scares me because I realize that soon enough, I'll be shaking my head wondering how I'm old enough already that my baby is in college.  

It's bittersweet saying goodbye to Laura.  She has big dreams, and I'm so proud of her!  She's the only one out of the four of us who went beyond the lines of Southern California to attain her college education.  She wants big adventures, new challenges, and unfamiliar places to explore.  I hope she finds all of that.  And I hope her adventures lead her home again often :)

I'm sad that it will be so long until Kayleigh sees her again.  She adores Laura, and it's crazy to imagine how much Kayleigh will grow and change and learn before she sees her auntie again.

But one thing that I've learned this year as a mom is that time flies by way too quickly, and I know that a day will be here soon where I feel like I just blinked and suddenly it is Christmas.  And Laura will be back home again, upstairs writing in her room, or singing along to her guitar, making up a silly new dance with Kate, or driving around in her funny little red Honda.

The Little Prince holds a special place in the hearts of all of my family members.  Laura has loved it for years in both French and English.  I love thinking that when she looks up at the stars on lonely nights away from home, she can think of us.  So much love is being sent her way--much more powerfully than the speed that any star's light can travel.  We love you, Lou!

“All men have stars, but they are not the same things for different people. For some, who are travelers, the stars are guides. For others they are no more than little lights in the sky. For others, who are scholars, they are problems... But all these stars are silent. You-You alone will have stars as no one else has them... In one of the stars I shall be living. In one of them I shall be laughing. And so it will be as if all the stars will be laughing when you look at the sky at night..You, only you, will have stars that can laugh! And when your sorrow is comforted (time soothes all sorrows) you will be content that you have known me... You will always be my friend. You will want to laugh with me. And you will sometimes open your window, so, for that pleasure... It will be as if, in place of the stars, I had given you a great number of little bells that knew how to laugh”
 ― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince