The Perfect Order

"May I take your order", the server asks.
"Yes, thank you," looking up from her menu, with wine in hand, "For starters, I would like one order of a fantastic European vacation, a side of Cafe Demel, and for dessert, an slate gray Aston Martin. Thanks!"

Yah - well, I could only wish that this lovely Aston Martin had a home in my garage. I would settle for one of the many Porsches zooming around the streets of Vienna and Prague - how about that? A Porsche 911 Turbo? My all time favorite automobile? No? Okay...I will just move onto the trip wrap up.

When mom mentioned this trip last March, I knew it would be a great experience…especially when I learned about the trip to Auschwitz and the demonstration on how to make strüdel. (Random combo!) But, now that the two weeks are over and reflections have been written, I know the trip will go down as one of the most amazing times in my life.

The past 10 years have been interesting; to say the least…and I realized how reticent I have become in my personal life. Work, school, and life’s ups and downs have wound me so tight, I forgot about the many of the things that brought me joy. As an outside observer of the many distinctions in each country, the people, lifestyles, extensive histories, mysteries, and the arts, I was reminded that there is a whole world out there and I need to step back and enjoy life before I wonder where it whisked off to. But more than that, I will forever treasure the time I spent with my mom. Lord knows, I am not an easy one to deal with and I have been far from the model child. But regardless of it all, she has always been my rock.

As I told her on the plan ride home, I love our visits at home, but there is always stress when we go to one another’s cities …something planned, obligations to fulfill, etc. On this trip, mom and I didn’t have any reason to be stressed – all was taken care of by Tauck. (Okay, we did have a bit of stress trying to do the arithmetic with currency conversions....ending up in servers loving us with our we-have-no-clue-so-just-take-this tip) So, we just went with the flow.

As I was typing this, I found I had difficulty choosing my words. The truth is, I am not sure I can put all I felt, the myriad of emotions, in words. What I so know is I saw a total different side to my mom…another fabulous side. I witnessed the woman, not the mom/wife. I saw her relaxed and interacting with adults other than the ones I am used to her being around. Who knew she was so “darn” funny?! (I feel) Our laughter and chats (and the tons of desserts and vats of wine...ha ha) brought our relationship to a new/different level, down a road I am excited to travel. Thanks so, so, so much Mom. This was an unforgettable summer!