Separation anxiety

Tomorrow I get on a plane for the other side of the country, where I will attend and give a paper at a conference, visit family, and be away from my toddler daughter for one week, which is 5 nights longer than I've ever been away from her. While my paper is still only half written, I find I am much more anxious about this separation than about potentially embarrassing myself in front of my colleagues.

One reason it's hitting me so hard, I think, is that this week will surely result in her finally giving up what around here we affectionately call "na-na." Yes, my almost two and a half year old still starts and ends her day at momma's breast, a state of affairs that I did not foresee back when I righteously asserted my intentions of nursing her for a full year, as per the AMA's recommendations. Don't get me wrong, we are most certainly ready for this next milestone. When your toddler begins to refer to your boobs as her property ("I want MY na-nas") and to assert her independence in the process ("I can do it myself!" she protests, pulling up my shirt), the bonding experience loses a little of its former warm-fuzzy glow. That said, I will nonetheless miss, and I am already tearily mourning the loss of, what have been some of the loveliest moments of my life.