circa 1970'ssomewhere in Upstate New York
Mom's Story continued
Mom loved to travel. Let me rephrase that ~ Mom loved history and exploration. Travel sickness was her nemesis but she never let it get in the way.
Being an Army wife, she knew the trials of uprooting her family and starting over, once again, in a new place. I always used to think that it must have been thrilling for her, a small town girl, to live all over the world thanks to Dad's occupation, but in retrospect, it must have been tough repeatedly setting up house with three kids. Army wives took care of each other. They all knew the drill. They all knew they had to be each other's "family" because their real ones weren't there. They were Mom's saving grace. And these travels made Mom a stronger and even more interesting woman.
When Dad retired, he and mom were always taking a car trips. They both had enough of airplanes and far away places. Instead, they were content to explore the history and culture of the Eastern seaboard from Maine to Florida.
As my parents aged, Mom did confess that the one city she has always wanted to visit was Paris. When they were living in Europe it was the one place she just didn't make it to. I always harbored a fantasy of whisking her away on the Concorde as she couldn't face flying the distance any more on a typical jet. By the time I could afford it the Concorde was relegated to mothballs. It was a huge disappointment for me, especially since Mom refused to take an ocean liner. Sea sickness was another thing she couldn't face any more.
I inherited Mom's travel bug. It doesn't really matter where I go, I just want to go ~ by car, by boat, by plane. I don't care. I just love the experience and exploration of new. It energizes me. Thanks, Mom!
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