Two weeks from now...

...I will be running through my packing list and swearing off anything that I've forgotten as something I obviously don't need; attempting to gather and hug and kiss all of my friends and family at once; digesting "mom's squash casserole"; sipping and savoring a final Fort Collins microbrew; wondering if I will be able to sleep; forgetting where I put my passport and then remembering that it's already in the hands of the U.S. government and then looking for it again five minutes later; staring up at the Northern Sky; reminding myself to breathe and be here now; and, finally, relaxing into in the wide-eyed excitement that always comes with a big "leaving", particularly one that reunites with the earth 6,000 miles south.