Postcard from Down Under

Catherine has been away for nearly three weeks. She is visiting one of her closest friends from college days (and beyond, clearly) in Australia. Today she is 30 years old, except, I believe that she turned 30 yesterday...given the time shift. Before she departed I told her that for the duration of her trip I would think of her perpetually being mid-cartwheel. On the other side of the world and upside down.

In any case, the card(s) and present I got her are in New England waiting for her, and come next Monday, she and I will e-mail again for the first time in nearly a month. Our habit is to e-mail religiously, upwards of 20 to 30 times in a given day--and while I've missed the pas de deux of electronic communication, I know how much she's needed and wanted this adventure, and I coveted this freedom from constraint for her benefit.

She is having the time of her life, and I imagine that the looming date of her return must be a bittersweet thing...perhaps more bitter than sweet. How could one come back to the confines of routine after holding a baby koala?