 |
| Expert packer! |
I heard her. She was serious. Ruby is always serious about travel. But I kept telling her I wanted her in Phoenix with us, and it would be fun, sunny and warm. Though appealing to spend spring break with family, Ruby kept looking for flights. Winter was dark for her. She used every ounce of strength to keep up her straight A's and keep going. Dancing, practicing, teaching, reading, studying...it was all losing its luster. We brainstormed and pondered. We spent Sundays talking with Bill and Coco, going over options, exploring possibilities. I secretly thought that in the end, Ruby would end up going with us. The thought both comforted me and depressed me. If there is anything I want to give my kids, it is the sense of possibility. Things are possible. You can make them happen.
Finally, I messaged my friend Alex in the Netherlands. Alex is a family friend who lived with my family when I was 14, and we have talked about getting our teens together for a couple of years. I threw it out there again and Alex said Ruby would be welcome. Then my friend Liz said Ruby could stay at her house in Boston overnight on her way. Ruby had found flights. It was all possible. With all this in place, I didn't want Ruby's dream to fall through the cracks. She was set to leave for southern Utah with dance company that day, so I checked her out of math to book her flight.
Without even telling Scott, she came home, sat down at the computer, and booked the flight. An exciting moment, to be sure. Ruby 's first solo flight to Europe at age 17, following in my footsteps, and my mom before me, although my mom was younger than that when she lived with an American military family in Germany while her parents were on a mission in the Netherlands. This wanderlust is in the blood.
The next step was to break the news to Scott. He had been vaguely supportive of Ruby's spring break wish list, not thinking that she would come through with a viable plan. The good news was that she had booked a flight that DIDN'T have a 12-hour layover in Istanbul. The bad news was, first, that she had booked a flight at all, and second, that it wasn't super-duper cheap. Seven something, plus points to get to Boston, as opposed to 500 for a flight through Istanbul. At that point, though, who cares? Ruby works hard, and her money couldn't be better spent than travel. Scott came home for lunch and I said, "I have to tell you something. I'm just going to say it."
You should have seen his face! I thought he was going to pass out. I'm sure a thousand thoughts went through his head before I was able to blurt out, "Ruby booked a flight to Amsterdam for spring break." He was relieved and happy, poor guy. He was completely onboard, too, until the night before the flight, which was the night after the Brussels, Belgium attacks at the airport. We were both scared out of our minds to send Ruby to Europe. Amsterdam is right next door to Brussels, and she would be staying in The Hague, the center of European politics, and a major port. Scott reacted by accusing me of being the mastermind behind this whole idea. He wasn't wrong. Ruby was calm, cool and collected as she packed. She refused to entertain the idea of calling off the trip. Meanwhile, I was having what I would describe as a 12-hour-long panic attack. I could hear my heart beating in my ears. I could sear I could hear and feel my blood coursing through my veins, all over my body. My face was white and tingly and I couldn't even think about sleeping. I was thankful Ruby was determined. It made me feel less anxious. Scott has an uncanny ability to go to sleep when he's stressed, so he was golden.
No comments:
Post a Comment