Preparing My Daughter, and Myself, For an Overnight Class trip

My eighth-grader is getting ready to go to Washington D.C. with her classmates next week.  Sending your child on an overnight class trip could be scary, stressful and exciting all at the same time.  This is not her first class trip - she was fortunate to visit Chicago in 6th grade.  So although we have some experience getting her ready for these occasions, I still feel a little anxious.  We started planning for this trip at the beginning of this school year, so I was used to thinking of it as "far off", "in May", "at the end of the year"... wait a second, it is May!  It is the end of the school year!  So now I have to scramble and make sure she has everything she may possibly need on this trip:  weather and venue appropriate clothes, every personal care item she may need (and let me tell you, a 13 year old girl needs a lot!), medicine for every possible ailment.  Of course she cannot go anywhere without her cell phone and iPod, and I would love to see where she visits, so I am parting with my nice compact digital camera and keeping my fingers crossed that I will see it again.  Oh, and all the electronics will require chargers — can't forget those!  

Sometimes I think I am more exited about this trip than my daughter — we do not get the opportunity to travel a lot as a family, so class trips are a great way for my daughter to broaden her knowledge and views.  Some part of me worries about all that can go wrong while she is out of my reach, but I have been learning to cut the proverbial umbilical cord for the last few years.  So as long as we can get her pre-packed this weekend, I think we both can relax and excitedly anticipate this trip.