Just returned from another whirlwind tour over the past two weeks . This one included car trips to Chicago, Southern Wisconsin, and Winnipeg. The purpose of these trips was to have an opportunity to visit fun places and important people and spend quality time before departing for Kuwait. Anna sees it differently. She tells people “My mom’s visiting all these people like she’ll never see them again. We’re only going to be gone 10 months, not 10 years.”
I understand her comment. Through the last 6 months, I’ve tried to reassure friends and family that it is SAFE to move to Kuwait and we will be returning. The friends I’ve been visiting I do not see on a regular basis-maybe one a year IF I’m lucky. And I hope they are not planning on dying anytime soon (as much as they can control it!)
However, I will admit to an irrational fear that something WILL happen and someone important to me will die while I'm gone. I want to make sure that I had a final complete opportunity to be with these people and say the things I needed to say.
And what IF someone I love does die when I’m gone ? I can't control the outcome but I can control my response. What can I do? Hop on a plane to be there ? Yes I can-but at great expense. You all know me-I’d be on the next flight out-with David dragging me off the plane explaining (in Arabic of course) that his crazy wife has no concern/sense of spending money when it comes to her friends and family.
I’m German enough to know that I can’t control life events. I’m also Norwegian enough to try. So I'm trying to control what I can by saying the things I need to say to people while they are around to hear it and I'm around to say it. Can you hear James Taylor's "Shower the People you Love with Love
in the background?!
In closing, one of the big lessons I learned through my parents deaths was to never leave anything unsaid. Hopefully I won't need to be thankful that I put on over 1875 carbutt miles in four weeks. Oops, too late, I already am THANKFUL.
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