Friday, January 9, 2009
Something's in the air
Actually somebody's in the air, namely Becca. After much anxiety over the past few days due to 1) Becca's personal need to fit her entire wardrobe into two suitcases (50 pds or less each) and 2) Julie's expected "mom" moments over her daughter being far away for the next 4 1/2 months Becca is finally in the air on her way to Barcelona. Not without it's intial challenges though as her long standing flight to Madrid was cancelled completely due to Madrid airport's inability to handle 2 inches of snow today. With great assistance from Julie at the airport, Becca was rescheduled on a flight to London with a connector to Barcelona and left at 530 PM CST. At this moment she is 3500 miles from home and due to land in London in 1 hour. When we wake up Saturday morn Becca will already be using her Spanish language skills at a quaint Barcelonian tapas bar (or so I imagine.!)
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It's going to be such a great experience ... worry not! Looking forward to future random musings ....
ReplyDeleteJulie’s Epiphany
ReplyDeleteI just spoke with Rebecca (for her it is 1:30 AM Sunday) She has reached her hotel safe and sound. Since her adventure started on Friday around 1:30 Pm, she has only slept when she could on the plane or in the London Airport. She sounded tired, but all is well…..except her carryon did not reach her location. Of course, in Becca (and my) eyes – this is the most important piece of luggage. It has her chargers for her computer, her camera, & her ipod, it has the web cam, all her paperwork for the program, her copies of her passport and credit cards – and in her words the clothes she wanted the most. On Friday, when she arrived at American Airlines gate (or maybe it was in the plane – I do not have all the details) she was told they would need to check her carryon. There was no room to store it in the cabin. They assured her it would reach her final destination. It did not. In our phone conversation, we reassured Becca tomorrow would be better – she should concentrate on getting some sleep – I hung up and slowly began to crumble at the kitchen table. Dan was completely confused – could not understand why this would upset me so. It seemed so illogical, after all everything in the suitcase could be replaced. However, I was not upset over the lost luggage --- I was upset over something much more important, I was upset about what I lost. I lost my little girl. I lost the ability to "fix" it. In one phone call, I realized that Becca was all grown up. She started at O’Hare airport. The first flight was cancelled because of snow in Madrid. Her next flight was delayed many hours in London due to fog. They lost her luggage, which held all the information of where she needed to go. Yet, she triumphed and still arrived at the hotel in time for the Welcome dinner where she was expected. She did not look to me to solve any of these stumbling points – she took care of it (or is taking care of it) on her own.
I have always known that my children are not MINE – they do not belong to me as a possession – yet, twice I have been unprepared for the moment I truly accepted that reality. As if it were yesterday, I remember the day I stood at the kitchen sink crying because I realized I was no longer the WOMAN in Rob’s life – I had lost him to a girl friend – I was first in his life, I would need to share him with someone who would be important to him. I imagine that I will always remember sitting at the kitchen table, crumbled because I realized my Rebecca is all grown up. I also imagine that there will be a defining moment when I realize JJ and Danny have moved on. Just because I know it is so, does not make the moment any easier to experience.
So already, in less then 2 days, both Rebecca and I have experienced so much. I am so proud of you honey, and while you may not need me, I am here for you.
Love,
Mom
wow!
ReplyDeletei will always need you for something or another mom :)
ReplyDelete