Our flight was relatively smooth yesterday, despite a potentially holiday-wrecking hiccup.
Somehow a certain airline whose brand-name dominates this category of CAC managed to book The Poo and I on one flight and Mr. C on another.
After several tense minutes waiting for standby seats we all got on the same plane.
Our tickets for the flight out of O’Hare had Mr. C in the front of the plane, and the girl and I sat in back, where they like to keep the kiddies.
We had a quiet hour in the air, watching DVDs on my laptop and chatting. After awhile, the early wake-up time caught up with The Poo and she asked me to hold her.
We cuddled as the metal bird swooped low over the city of her birth.
“Mommy, we’re flying!” she exclaimed.
“Yes,” I replied. “That’s Rochester. You were born there.”
“I was?” The Poo asked. “I live in Urbana!”
I told her that was true, and went on to explain that I rarey rode airplanes as a little girl, but that once, a long time ago, Meema sent me to England all by myself for three weeks.
We got to talking about growing up and going away to college. “One day,” I said, “you’ll be a grown-up young woman and you’ll go to college and learn lots of things.”
“Oh, no, Mommy!” she buried her head in my chest. “I don’t wanna go to college!”
I asked her why not.
“I don’t want to grow up! I want to be brand new!” She petted my hair with her small hand and kissed my wrist.
As much as I want that, too, I know that someday she will fly away from me, perhaps on a plane much like the one that brought me back to the waiting arms of my own mother.
I looked at her, and suddenly knew that when the time does come to set her free, it would be this moment that I held in my palms as I let her go.
{ 31 comments… read them below or add one }
I want to be brand-new too! So sweet.
I am living with a perpetual lump in my throat, you aren’t helping matters.
Lovely.
That’s two days in a row that your posts have made me weepy…for two totally different reasons.
Thanks for that.
Ah, I want to be brand new too….
That is just so sweet! wiping the tears from my eyes.
Awwwwww.
Simply lovely.
Annika and I had a similar conversation in the car yesterday. She informed me that she would only go to college if I could come and live with her.
I smiled, thinking to myself that she’ll feel very differently 13 years from now, but I couldn’t help but feel wonderful that she said it.
Tears. What a lovely memory to hold onto.
Thanks for sharing.
Oh little girl…
Aw sweet.
I went away for a while…but now I see my mom twice a day. So it isn’t so bad after all!
I praise God for travel DVD systems when we travel
Adorable. (Why am I not surprised?)
How long are you going to be in Rochester for? Maybe we could meet for a beverage?
“i want to be brand new!”
funny, as i read that i remembered that fear of getting older, that desire to stay a child. how big a job, this making them ready and strong so they can fly on their own, and so they will want to.
glad you travelled safe.
Aww, man.
I love this post. My mom used to tell me about a time when I told her that I never wanted to grow up and leave her.
That’s way cute.
Spot on – I remember being certain, dead certain, that I would never want to venture on my own.
And now my kids say the same things.
What a great memory you made today.
Stop it!
Your posts keep making me cry.
I felt oddly pained today as we were coming home across northern IN with my kids in the backseat… knowing that we’re on the back end of vacations like the small one we just had, ones where it’s all four of us.
xo
Great post. So, so sweet. I crying.
It’s it amazing what can happen when you least expect it.
Don’t forget between brand new and flying to college there will be that long stage where she rolls her eyes at you daily and you find out that you are suddenly very hard to endure.
After that stage, your palms might be pushing her out the door.
And then you’ll miss each other like crazy.
Just beautiful. I’m left all teary-eyed. sniffle sniffle.
Isn’t it just lovely when they take a minute to not want to grow up so fast. Here are two things Madeline (4 years old) has told me recently…
1. I don’t want to grow up and be married. But maybe I want a good little baby someday.
2. I always want to always live in our house until we are all 126 and we die.
Why ya gotta make me bawl more (see my latest post about Lars & the Real Girl)? Gracious (but nicely done).
I will, however, counter this lovely story with my 9-year old son’s – he talks about how LONG he can keep living with us, like when he gets married? And is an actor? Heaven help us…
Okay, you’re making me cry. Stop it.
Ahem, okay. That was beautiful.
There’s something about being a brand new parent, too, isn’t there?
Sometimes I want the same thing.
Oh the moment! Hold it tight, indeed – love those times, love them!
::sniff::
Some times I just have to pop a comment in to say, “I’m reading” because what you write is so complete, there is nothing for me to really say.
But I love the reading.
So sweet. My six-year-old also doesn’t want to leave. I’ve had to reassure him that I won’t boot him out of the house at 18. And when he told me that he didn’t want to go to college because it’s far away, I had to reassure him that he could go to a close college. I’ll have to remind him of this when he tries to get as far away as humanly possible when he’s a teen.
This blog is going to be so wonderful to look back on for her when she’s older. In the past, diaries were very private things – this public record of thoughts will be an amazing resouce for our generation’s children.