Patrick, That has to be tough! But rest assured, she and you will probably be around next year to go through the whole thing when you leave for your next 3 month trip.

Have a FANTSTIC time!!! We'll miss you around here. But I'm already looking forward to hearing about your trip.

Ciao!

Bon Voyage, Patrick, you will be missed but I ( and your mother) will be looking forward to some sort of report or comments when you return ~

Ani- Congrats! My baby girl is 15 (years, not days). I did blink.

Patrick- we'll miss you, have fun, and give your Mom a kiss for me. Mine died in January and I wish I had her here to kiss.

Rave- Just got back from DC where my older daughter is being recruited for soccer.

Rant- The traffic was brutal.

Rave- What a blessedly beautiful day ourside.

Patrick, promise your mother you'll call at some pre-arranged times during your trip, then invest in a phone card while in Europe (make sure it covers calls to the US). It'll help her a lot to know you care that she doesn't worry and that you'll at least TALK during those 3 months. If you have some specific phone "dates" ("Tuesdays and Fridays, around breakfast time....", she can look forward to hearing from you between calls and won't feel so far away. She'll also know you have a phone card and can call her if something unexpected happens. Also reassure her by giving the A.L. facility (and her?) a few contact phone numbers.

Hopefully, she's wrong about seeing you again, but she may not be. Everyone's life is short. You'll always feel better about easing her sorrow at having you so far away -- doing otherwise could ruin your memories of the trip more than feeling that she's a "burden" now.

Ani, CONGRATS! Patrick, have a great trip. Suggestion of promise to phone Mom is a good one, won't cost you much time or money.

Patrick, it is so important that you keep in touch with your Mom while you are away. I put off traveling by air for many years, because I was afraid my Mom would worry herself to death. She passed away last year at age 92, and was always a good sport about my travels, even though I knew she worried a lot.

Before each trip, I would write out an "itinerary" for her in a spiral notebook, so she could keep up with where I was and what I was doing. (Yes, I did some things that would have made her hair stand on end -- hot air ballooning, helicopter ride, lots of walking around late at night -- but I didn't tell her about those until later.) I also brought her a magnet or a coffee mug from different cities I visited, and she was really proud of those.

The idea to set pre-arranged times to call her is a great one. She will feel much better, and so will you.

By the way, I realize you've already left on your trip, but I wanted to post this anyway. Have a great time!

Hope this is not too late, Patrick,
Have a great time and tell mom, you have hundreds here praying for your (and anyone traveling,) a safe return. meanwhile, Sunday rant, no hot water, broken didposal and can't find someone willing to come here to fix it.

Sunday rants and raves:

Rave: The weather in NC is wonderful. Soccr did a good job describing it on Friday.
Rant: The yellow pollen coating everything.

Rave: Ani's new baby (aaaahhh)
Rant: with a rave like that, there can't be a rant

Rant/Rave: The Apprentice. Most every task was selling oriented, but the winner will oversee a construction project. Wouldn't have made sense to have more tasks related to the final job offer?

Bon Voyage Patrick, I look forward to reading your trip reports.

Monday rant: My computer is on the blink. Internet company says I have a "winsock" problem. What is that? I thought a windsock was something you stuck in your yard. I am using my daughter's computer while she is at school; however, her internet is networked through mine. If I have to have mine serviced, her internet probably won't work either. What ever will I do? (Also, my son was climbing the walls yesterday. Help!)