Truly Gone

She's in the air, bound for France. But let me back up, it has been awhile since I have posted an entry. So far, the most difficult time of all was the week before she left. We went to Colman Pool in Lincoln Park on Friday for a relaxing and refreshing end of the summer swim. That evening I taught her how to clean, roast, and carve a chicken for dinner. Not the best of ideas on a hot evening but it is her intention to fix a turkey for Thanksgiving while in France (I am trying to dissuade her). Fixing a chicken at least gave her a basic introduction to poultry preparation. All weekend she was saying good bye over and over to friends and relatives. Making list upon list and crossing off items as they are purchased or packed. Copying everything twice, once for her and once for us: the Guarantee Form which gives info on her host family and school, immunization forms and insurance policy, the visa and passport, the visa application (in case, God forbid!) she loses the actual visa. I made 2 trips to Staples and made a dozen plus copies each time. Packing, measuring and weighing the luggage, doing laundry and packing some more and weighing again. For those of you who are traveling on NW airlines the weight of the luggage is looked at more closely than the measurements. Each of the 2 pieces should be 70 pounds or less. Anna Rae did very well in that area as neither piece weighed more than 55 pounds. She got a hair cut on Sat. from our friend Megan who works at a very nice salon downtown but she cuts ours for a fraction of the cost right here at home, can't beat that. On Sunday morning we were all acutely aware that it was our last day together. Everyone from grandparents and aunts to friends from school and church and even families that she babysat for, were calling to say good bye. She went to McDonalds for one last taste of American fast food and then for dinner I fixed grilled salmon and pasta, a favorite for all of us. Sunday evening she and I went to church together. I think I will miss her most this year when I go to church because that is something we almost always do together and I love to hear her singing with me. There were some tears at one or two points during the day and I can't recall what brought them on, but I almost welcomed them. The emotional release was needed; the stress and exhaustion needed a release.
Last night none of us slept very sound. Anna Rae told us she woke up exactly a minute before her alarm went off at 5:30. She ate her oatmeal and watched a bit of the Olympics and before we knew it we were out the door and off to the airport. Once
in line to check luggage we saw 4 other Rotary students, all girls, also checking baggage for the flight to France. It was reassuring to talk with other people going through the same experience. The baggage line took about 40 minutes and then off to Security where we hugged and hugged, and took a couple last pictures and then we watched her zig zag through that line. After she went through Security with no problems we saw her wave her arms over her head and blow us kisses good bye before she connected with a fellow Rotary Student. All in all the time at the airport was only an hour.
Then Chris heads downtown to work and I scour Anna Rae's room for a couple things she forgot: her Rotary name tag and a watch that tells world time. As I am packing a box with these few things the phone rings. It is Marion, Anna Rae's host sister in France!! She had the times confused and thought she was calling in time to tell AR to have a safe trip and to reassure her that her family would be waiting in Geneva to pick AR up. Too bad for AR but I was THRILLED to talk with Marion! She is delightful. She said that she misses Seattle SO much (Marion was an exchange student at Ballard HS last year).
Tonight I think Chris and I will sleep better but I am not so sure about Anna Rae. The flying and airport lay over time run a total of 24 hours! No matter how tired she is I hope she remembers to call us. I can't wait to hear her voice.