by Toni Anne

Created on: March 08, 2009

Blurry eyed and yawning, I awoke to the ringing of my alarm clock. It seemed as though I had just gone to sleep, but sure enough, it was 3:00 a.m. and time to get motivated. I had to be at the Richmond airport by 6:30 a.m. to board my flight by 8:30 a.m. It was an hour and a half drive from Norfolk to Richmond and I knew I would need a cup of coffee from the 7-11 long before heading onto the highway.

I had already packed my suitcases, weighed them, and stacked by the front door the evening before. Except for my backpack I was taking aboard the plane, I was all set. I had also showered before heading to bed because I'm not an early bird and function very limitedly at that hour of the morning. I'm lucky if I can recall my own name much less organize things to take on a trip.

The house was quiet. I tiptoed around getting myself dressed and finalizing a quick note to my mother. She was sleeping and we'd already said our goodbyes so I didn't have to wake her that morning. I loaded the car with my luggage and went back to be sure I hadn't forgotten something. I took another look around before closing the door behind me. I remembered my early years growing up in that house with the many Christmases spent opening presents and birthdays dancing with friends. I was also reminded of the many tears that had fallen on the floor below me, whether it was from watching a sad T.V. show or after an argument with my sister. The silence was tremendously surreal. It wasn't as though I was leaving behind those memories, I was about to add more to them. I sighed to myself and closed the door.

I was getting ready to take a new path in my life. A new journey never explored. I had traveled throughout my youth, having visited at least 32 different states and observed numerous of historical sites within those states. I felt blessed because I had visited more places, by my age, than most people get to see in a lifetime. However, leaving the country was an entirely different matter. Even having served in the naval reserves, I had yet to set foot on any other soil other than my own country's. It's not that I was afraid, because I really did enjoy traveling and meeting new people, but this was something new. This was about going abroad to start a new chapter in my life. It's been said that dreams are the book our soul is writing about ourselves. I had always dreamt of traveling overseas and here in my hand was the ticket about to make that happen.

Several months prior I met a wonderful young

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