At the end of April my mom came to visit us. This was much anticipated as it was our first visitor, but the trip didn’t pan out quite as we expected. The original plan was for her to come see us for the first part of our two week vacation. We would spend several days in Albertville then all take a train together to spend time in Paris which is where she would fly out from.
After weeks of planning and waiting the week of her arrival was upon us. Towards the start of the week my mom started to not feel well and then the day before she was supposed to fly out she tested positive for Covid! This was so disappointing, and also a little crazy as it was the first time she had gotten Covid even after having worked in an urgent care where she primarily did Covid testing over the last two years.
Thankfully we were able to rework her tickets and our timeline so that she could still come. Rather than start in Albertville, Adam, the kids and I took a train and met my mom in Paris where we spent three days sight-seeing and exploring. This was the kid’s first time on a train, but they did wonderfully! It was so sweet to arrive in Paris, exit the train station and find my mom standing there waiting for us. The kids were so excited as well and it was as if no time had passed at all since we saw her last.
While in Paris we visited and saw many places including the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, Sacre Coeur , The Louvre, Notre Dame Cathedral, the Panthéon, the Luxembourg Gardens, the Moulin Rouge, the Seine River, and Place Vendôme. We also ate at lots of amazing restaurants, tried tons of pastries and coffee and just enjoyed being together in Paris. I never would have imagined that our family and my mom would spend a vacation together in beautiful Paris, but this is one example of the beauty of living overseas! We are so thankful to get to experience new places like this and to have guests who can come and experience them with us!
After our time in Paris we all took a train ride to Albertville and spent several days showing my mom what our life is like. We went up to the medieval city of Conflans twice (about a mile walk with lots of incline). We had my mom try our favorite pastries around town, had kebabs (one of our all time favorite things here), introduced her to many of our friends, relaxed in our apartment and cherished the time we had together. It was so special to get to show her where we’re living and what life is like in Albertville.
The evening she left I walked her to the train station. We prayed together and cried as we walked. When we arrived we said a tearful goodbye and I settled her on her train headed to Chambery – with an eventual final destination of Paris where she was going to stay the night before flying the following morning. I sat waving goodbye to her until her train pulled away feeling a pit in my stomach that she was leaving and that this goodbye would be for a lot longer than the last one. Then I walked home.
To my surprise, when I arrived home, Adam asked if my mom was with me to which I laughed and said of course not! It turns out that she had mixed up her train time and I had put her on the wrong train! He had hoped we would have noticed before sending her off which of course was not the case.
The train she was on happened to be headed to the same destination as her actual train, but unfortunately with enough of a time difference (mere minutes) to cause a ton of problems. With Adam’s gentle coaching and quick internet searching, she ended up getting on a couple trains before eventually having to take a bus overnight to arrive in Paris in time for her flight. What should have been a relaxing train ride and hotel stay in Paris before flying out turned into a frantic, stressful trip trying to communicate with little to no French, navigate trains, ride a bus overnight without sleeping and then jump on an airplane. Needless to say I think she was thankful to arrive home!
Between the difficulties at the beginning after she got Covid and the chaotic voyage from Albertville to Paris at the end we have been joking that we hope she isn’t too traumatized to travel overseas again! But seriously, we are so thankful for her willingness to travel here to see us and also for the many people along her journey who were so kind to help her (ie. the person who just gave her their charging block so her phone wouldn’t die as she stayed in contact with us so we could help get her to Paris).
Since she left we had a whirlwind of activity with all of our birthdays in May, two of my brothers then our field directors coming to visit plus our studies in general. I don’t think it has fully sunk in yet that it will probably be over a year before I see my mom in person again. Saying good-bye has definitely been the hardest part of moving overseas. Her trip here was so good though and it reminded me that, though there is a great space between us and many people we love so dearly, our relationships with those people will always remain special and strong. And each time we do get those face-to-face interactions we will savor them. We thank God for such incredible family and friends who make saying good-bye so hard!
-Selina
