Call it being psychic, call it mother-son intuition, call it a lucky guess, but as I sat in my apartment around 11am on April 5th, I felt impelled go downstairs and check if my Mom was here yet. As soon as I opened the big metal door to the courtyard of my building, an airport van turned down my street, and a huge jolt of excitement coursed through my veins. Kathy Donovan had arrived in Paris.
Over the past 4 months, I've built a life in a completely different country, one she had never been to. I owe both my parents so much for giving me the opportunity to build this life. They never got an opportunity like this - to live abroad and to explore the world. They were too busy building the incredible family and life that I grew up with. So the six days my Mom was going to be in France would only be the beginning of me paying her back. Of course, as any family knows, when Mom's happy, Dad's happy, so it was an indirect thank you to my Dad as well. I'll also get him Redskins season tickets one day, so you're getting taken care of too Dad. Don't you worry.
The six days flew by faster than the space shuttle Discovery flew across the DC sky today (yeah to all you people posting pictures of it on Facebook, can't tell you how jealous I am). I was completely neurotic when it came to every little detail. I wanted everything to be perfect. As I've regaled my parents on Skype with tales of my crazy adventures, the sights I've seen, and the people I've met, there's been a part of me that felt disgustingly spoiled. At a mere 21 years old, I've seen more of the world than my parents have, and it just doesn't seem right. This was one of the many things my Mom and I talked about while she was here, and we attributed it to the fact that our parents' generation lived in a different time, when the world felt a lot bigger. The technology that brings the world to our fingertips today did not exist when they where young. However, everyone deserves to see the world. That's why I wanted everything to be perfect.
From her first view of the Eiffel Tower:
Over the past 4 months, I've built a life in a completely different country, one she had never been to. I owe both my parents so much for giving me the opportunity to build this life. They never got an opportunity like this - to live abroad and to explore the world. They were too busy building the incredible family and life that I grew up with. So the six days my Mom was going to be in France would only be the beginning of me paying her back. Of course, as any family knows, when Mom's happy, Dad's happy, so it was an indirect thank you to my Dad as well. I'll also get him Redskins season tickets one day, so you're getting taken care of too Dad. Don't you worry.
The six days flew by faster than the space shuttle Discovery flew across the DC sky today (yeah to all you people posting pictures of it on Facebook, can't tell you how jealous I am). I was completely neurotic when it came to every little detail. I wanted everything to be perfect. As I've regaled my parents on Skype with tales of my crazy adventures, the sights I've seen, and the people I've met, there's been a part of me that felt disgustingly spoiled. At a mere 21 years old, I've seen more of the world than my parents have, and it just doesn't seem right. This was one of the many things my Mom and I talked about while she was here, and we attributed it to the fact that our parents' generation lived in a different time, when the world felt a lot bigger. The technology that brings the world to our fingertips today did not exist when they where young. However, everyone deserves to see the world. That's why I wanted everything to be perfect.
From her first view of the Eiffel Tower:
To her first crepe:
To her first view of the Mediterranean Sea as we took to the French Riviera for the weekend:
Of course, things never go perfectly, but that's when something makes for a funny story later on. EXAMPLE: I accidentally had us get on the wrong train to the French Riviera, so we spent the first half of the journey without seats, just chilling in the train stairwell watching a movie on my laptop. We simply rolled with the punches and eventually reached the southern coast of France. We stayed in this village right next to Nice, Villefranche Sur Mer, which was aboslutely perfect. Away from the hustle and bustle of Nice, the quiet village nestled into the mountains gave us a relaxing setting and a breathtaking view:
Each new experience made my Mom light up. Every bite of food, every new vista, every sip of wine. Even racking up a 36 euro bar tab at the Monte Carlo casino on just 2 cocktails.
Our last night in the Riviera eventually arrived. As we were sitting at dinner at a quaint, little seafood place nestled in the port of Villefranche Sur Mer, my Mom asked me how I was going to approach the task of writing about her visit to France. I told her that I always like to write about something with a purpose in mind. I don't just like to give an hour by hour account of what I did every day. There has to be a point, a lesson, something that I got out of that experience. We racked our brains as the wine kept flowing and the chocolate soufflé was served.
Our stomachs stuffed with the fluffy chocolate creation, we finally came to a conclusion. What I got out of my Mom's trip to France.
Throughout her trip, my Mom kept saying that while I was growing up, when she was driving me to soccer practice or cleaning my skinned knee after falling off my bike, she never imagined I'd be leading her through France one day. Those six days were a turning point in the relationship between my Mom and me. I finally felt like an adult around her. What's more, she LET me act like an adult. There weren't any "Because I said so"s or "I'm your mother, so I'm right"s. Coming from me, there weren't any "You're not fair"s and "Are we there yet"s. It was like we both reached this point in our relationship where we both were equal, having had life experiences the other hasn't had, but wanting to learn from each other's respective experiences. Now this doesn't mean that I'll return home all high and mighty over my parents like "I know so much more about the world" because that just isn't the case. Both my parents and I have lived incredibly different young adult lives. I know how to jump around Europe, while they actually understand what the hell a mortgage is. I've eaten escargot in Paris and gnocchi in Italy, while they actually know how to prepare a legitimate Thanksgiving feast. So I guess what my Mom's visit taught me is that as you grow up, you will never NOT have something to learn from your parents. It's just that they will start having some things to learn from you.
Oh, and another thing I learned is that if you want to make your Mom cry, take her on a dinner cruise along the Seine that ends with the Eiffel Tower sparkling above her.
Hopefully she'll remember this moment the next time I piss her off. Which, let's face it, will likely be within the first hour I get home.
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