As you know from my last post, we were preparing my son for his first solo trip to Paris.
Now, it’s travel day. He is busy packing and tidying up his room before he has to leave for the airport. I made breakfast while we talked about his trip. We went over his checklist multiple times; we checked on his flight and I made sure I had his flight numbers at my fingertips.
Time to say goodbye-I give him a big hug and tell him how excited I am for him, to be safe but to try new things. I shed a small tear (not my usual blubbering self) and wave goodbye as he drives away.
He calls from the airport to ask a few questions and gives me updates on when he is boarding. This all gives me peace of mind. The mom part of me is still there, so I download a flight tracker and watch as his plane leaves Pittsburgh and lands in Boston (Yes, most of that trip was watched, no shame.). I watched the plane leave Boston and start its journey to Paris. I had to stop watching to get a bit of sleep and also, because the plane was out of range which meant I couldn’t follow it anymore. I woke up through the night wondering how it’s going, did they give him a meal, was he able to sleep, did they hit any turbulence, etc. Then the text comes in, it’s my baby, “I’m getting off the plane now.” Woohoo, my baby is safe. Then I remember the Taken movies I have watched quite a few times. I had already told him that I was putting Liam Neeson, Denzel Washington, and the cast of Criminal Minds on standby. I also told him if anyone approached him at the airport and asked him to go to a party, just say NO!
No worries, a little bit later I get the message that he was in his apartment he rented. After that, I got a picture of the Eiffel Tower and surrounding areas. It was exciting for me and made me feel like I was there with him. Day 1 was a success!
Paris is 6 hours ahead of us so, when I woke up at 6 am and did not have a message from him (after he said he was waking up at 7:30 Paris time) the mom side of me took over. I, first, tried to think rationally and thought that jetlag caught up with him or he forgot his phone. The latter was unlikely for sure if you know my son. So, I send my good morning message. There was not an immediate response which allowed my mind to wander… Was this the time to call my standby crew, did someone break into his apartment, etc? About 45 minutes later, I sent another message saying, “I guess jetlag caught up with you.” Remaining rationale, I wait. After 1.5 hours, he sent a message stating he was very tired. Whew! My baby is ok, he will shake off the sleepiness. We chat for just a minute, and I tell him that I’ll let him go so he can get himself together but, look forward to hearing about his adventures for the day.