Mother's Day is a great holiday, but I think there needs to be a bonus day for Mothers Who Were Mothers During Trauma Day...or something a little more Hallmark-sounding. For real, though, my mom raised my sister and me better that most do in good situations.
A large part of The Big Red Boat is a tribute to my mom's parenting. Each year I like to compile a list of ways that my mom is exceptionally-deserving of Mother's Day appreciation and this year, I'm making a special travel edition. Along with being a great mother at home, Mom was hilarious on vacations:
5. Mom is not afraid of strangers. For example, in 1999 we went to Frutigen, Switzerland. We were trying to navigate the town with a cab driver who didn't speak English. We were trying to find a cemetery because, you know, who doesn't look up dead ancestors on vacation? The driver had no idea what "cemetery" meant, so my mom tried "graveyard" and "tomb" and "death," but nothing was ringing a bell. I think Kristin even pretended to shoot someone. Laughing, mom mimed wrapping a noose around her neck, then dropped her head with a croaking sound. That worked.
4. Along with not being afraid of strangers, Mom isn't that afraid of being embarrassed by them. In high school she took my sister and me to Europe again, this time to Paris and Austria. We were traveling from Paris by train to Vienna. Now, I mentioned in my book how my mom had this demon suitcase she insisted on taking even though the wheels were broken and it weighed 500 pounds. So, we had gotten on the wrong bus and were barely on time for the train. There was an escalator up to our train platform, but of course it was broken and my mom couldn't carry the demon suitcase. Kristin and I dragged it up the stairs, somehow still at the top before my mom, screaming at her to hurry. Turns out we still had another 10 minutes, so we didn't need to create that whole scene after all. On the train, though, we couldn't find our cabin and were so grumpy that we just commandeered an empty one, hoping no one would care. Well, halfway into the train ride, we learned from an attendant that the train was splitting at the next stop, half was going to Germany, the other half to Austria. Awesome. So we started getting our bags to get to the other side of the train, but just then the train started slowing down. Losing our minds, we tore through the aisles, which was slow going because of mom's demon suitcase. We weren't going to make it. So we hopped off the train and RAAAANNNN down the platform to the other end. The doors were closed on the other end and we were banging on them and screaming. Now, it takes a while for trains to separate so we still had plenty of time. The doors opened with a press of a button, so again we were glad to create another unnecessary scene. On the train, gasping and on edge, we finally find our cabin. A few others were in there, calmly reading, when my mom (who was still nervous from all the freaking out we had just accomplished), SCREAMS at one guy, "I will give you a million dollars if you PICK UP MY BAG!" I wish I could express how mortified I was, and how funny I now find it.
3. One of my favorite trip-planning memories was after a Hawaiian cruise. We were in San Francisco on a trolley, bummed that the trip was almost over. "Where are we going next summer?" Kristin asked. "Egypt!" I said, not actually thinking we'd go because mom had been saying for years it was too dangerous. To our surprise, Mom said, "Um...yeah. Let's do it. But only if we do a Holy Lands tour, too, in Israel." Yeah. We were okay with that.
2. On The Big Red Boat, our first big trip, Mom and Kristin sang karaoke to "These Boots Were Made For Walking." I hadn't seen Kristin laugh that hard before.
1. Never having driven on the left side of the road, Mom rented a car in England and just "figured it out." Granted, we got a flat tire after hitting a curb too hard, but still, once it was fixed she did really well! This was also the first time any of us had used (or even knew of) a GPS. We named the voice "Margo."
Basically, my mom is awesome. Not just for taking us on ridiculously awesome trips, but for being adventurous in the first place. That adventurousness allowed me to have the confidence to travel on my own and explore opportunities in my regular life. Thank you, Mom, for helping me be who I am.
