Lately, M has been absorbing my wander lust by osmosis. Or maybe she just comes by it honestly, born with a lust for the far away. A few days ago, in my grandma’s hospital room, she turned to me and suddenly said, “Mommy, let’s take a trip!” Where should we go, I asked her. “On an airplane! Ohhhh I’m so excited!”
Today my grandma was being transferred to a rehab facility and got to ride in one of those fancy little old people “tour bus” type things. M absolutely insisted on riding on it. So a caregiver drove my car, and we all took a ride on this bus. M was absolutely geeked. She grabbed her backpack and scoped out the seat she wanted, enthusiastically buckled herself in, and squealed and oooh’d and ahh’d the entire ride. At one point she turned to me and asked, “Mommy, are we there? Where are the airplanes??” I’m pretty sure she thought we were on an airport shuttle. I had to gently let her down several times, as we have no airplane trips in our immediate future.
Seeing the light in her eyes and the excitement and pure joy on her face when she embarks on a travel adventure (even if that adventure is a senior citizen bus) is so precious. I think my face must look exactly the same when I’m off on a real adventure, completely transformed by an inner love of my present moment. I even look at the photos of myself taking off for adventures (Nepal, Turkey, Michigan Womyn’s Music Fest, etc) and I do seem to glow in such a way. I’m glad my daughter feels it, too. Hopefully, very soon, we will both be buzzing with the excitement of our next adventure.
Mother of All Things 