She Made It...

But neither one of us got much sleep. She was uncomfortable being packed in like a sardine. I was in mom mode watching the airplane icon track over the Atlantic. In the wee hours, I found myself on a travel abroad forum and I started stressing about things way beyond our control now. Things like travel insurance and liquid restrictions for carry ons. Should she have brought this? Not brought that?

Then I got this picture when it was still pitch black here and I was able to finally close my eyes. She was in London, through security and ready to get on her next flight.

When I got this picture of the Pyrenees, I slept. She made it.

A few hours later, I woke when she Facetimed to show us her apartment. It was 10 a.m. my time and 5 p.m. her time. Her little place is nice and right next door to her roomie, which is what we were hoping for. The apartment was a little dirty, but the concierge took care of it and things were off to a good start. Lesson one in self-assertion a win especially when delivered with a little sugar.

I could tell she was beyond exhausted, a little dehydrated, a tad overwhelmed and more than anything...excited. The girls set off for the mercado to pick up some essentials and then went out to explore their new city. They had freaking awesome tapas for dinner at 10 o'clock and then found a club in the historic Barceloneta neighborhood, a neighborhood I told her to avoid because I read that somewhere. Silly me. Lesson one in trusting her instincts a tough, but necessary one as I've never been to Spain. That being said I was relieved to hear they were on their way home a little while ago. It was 4 o'clock a.m. I think they are acclimating quite well and on their way to fully embracing the Spanish culture.

Of course, I have a million questions, but the may have to wait until Thursday as I expect her to sleep most of the day tomorrow. I will sleep well tonight knowing that she is home safe and sound.

And She's Off

 

As I write this, Lily is a couple hours into her journey to Barcelona. She'll arrive in London while we sleep and in Spain as we wake. She was ready. Eager. Excited. I was a much cooler cucumber than I expected. There were a few tears, but this is an amazing opportunity and the fact that she can study abroad is something to celebrate. These four months are a privilege. A gift. 

We arrived at O'Hare in record time. Not a traffic issue or a single slow down as we traveled south. We saw her off at security and we were home before she even boarded. The fact that she had to pay $100 for her overweight suitcase is partially my fault so I cannot take issue, but why this is even a thing is something that irks me. She's going abroad for a semester and traveling around and through Europe. A girl needs her things. I'm quite proud that she was able to hone it down to 55.5 pound suitcase, a carry-on and a very small backpack. I'll have almost as much when I go to visit for ten days if Mike doesn't have anything to say about it.

Ted was in Cali all week so we used his room as the staging area. Lil and I were the gatherers and gather we did. Mike was the packer. How he got everything on the bed into those three vessels will always astound me. Compression bags help, but still I will call it what it is...an act of magic. Maybe a miracle.

Limbo is what we called the time between the holidays and her send-off. We were done celebrating births, endings and beginnings, researching travel tips, shopping for one last must-have and ticking off the days, and yet they were such good days.

The holidays were very zen and that was just what we needed this year. We had smaller, more intimate gatherings, little fanfare and lots of quality time with loved ones. I wanted December to last forever, but the memories made will live on. We rang in the New Year as we usually do...with Pete and Sue. They prepared such a lovely dinner that I'm grateful we popped for the Veuve.

The new year is off to a solid start. I'm feeling optimistic and hopeful for 2025.