My daughter just left for her Summer Project.
The printer won't print her boarding pass and other items she wanted to print. The weighing scale was spoiled or had ran out of battery, so we couldn't weigh her check-in bag. However, by feel I knew it was way over 20kg. She couldn't figure out why her bag would weigh so much when it's just clothes and a few toiletries. I thought her toiletries must have had a lot of liquid which made it weigh so much.
Thank God, the drive was ok, no problems there and there was only a little traffic jam part of the way to the airport. We left the house at past 6am when we were supposed to have left at 5am.
I was so nervous when we left I was wondering why the people I met going in (I just dropped her first then I went to the carpark to park) to the check-in area were looking at me with a funny look. When I found her she told me the bag weighed 30kg. She said she had to re-pack so I went back to the car to get the plastic bags I had carried for those items she may have to leave behind. Thank God there were not many people, I was expecting more crowd, and having to park really far away. It was a short walk to the car park. On the way there I noticed my blouse was inside-out!!! I went inside the car, took it off and put in on the right way. Phew, Thank God, no one in sight. :(( Then when I got out of the car I left behind my glasses in the car seat. I didn't realize it until I was back at the check-in area to join her again.
We tried re-arranging her things between the check-in bag and carry-on bag. It was still heavy. We finally figured it's the metal in her bag (the built-in trolley in it) which was making it too heavy. After much deliberation, she realized the best option was to leave that bag behind with me and just carry whatever she could into her carry-on bag, check that in and use a smaller cloth bag (she brought one, thank God!) as a carry-on bag. That worked. Only 16kg. Her limit was 20kg. She only had an hour left so I pushed her to check in, go into security check and go on to board her plane. I was so nervous she would be late for her flight that I dropped my camera when I was about to take a photo of her checking in!! Now the camera is spoiled. It will need to be repaired or thrown away. :(((
We hugged and she went in. I noticed there was a queue at security so I went to her and we prayed at the queue before she left. I was so nervous we even forgot to pray. It was a good thing we were still able to when she was at the queue for security check.
She will be gone for 6 weeks, that's why we already celebrated her b-day and my younger son's graduation 4 days before this, on the night my older son was leaving for his Asian vacation. It was a rare moment having all my children together.
June 22, 2013 Saturday 11:16am NY time
I'm glad that's over. But phew, now I have to get a new camera, just two days before my younger son's graduation.
Now i realize that was probably my older daughter's defining moment, that's why I was so nervous? I remember how I was so stressed when I helped my older son beat the deadline for mailing his college applications in 2006. Their dad was also away, as usual, and my son was at the end of his tether. He said he didn't want to do the Teacher's Recommendation part because he wasn't close to any of his teachers, especially his classroom teacher and he doubted she would do it for him. He had been doing all the preparations all along - filling up the forms, writing his essay, putting all the other docs needed together. This was the hump he couldn't seem to get through. So, I stepped in. I went to see his teacher who turned out to be really helpful. We somehow lost his last report card so she had his records photocopied and notarized by the school. She made me write the recommendation and she only signed it! Finally, I had to put everything in envelopes and I would have to meet up with her in front of the school on a Saturday morning (no school) so she could sign all those application envelopes from the outside, as per requirement. Then I posted them. After I posted them I was driving out of the car park when I hit the column right behind me! I had parked in that place hundreds of times and I had reversed around that column all the time. But I was so stressed I hit it. :( Thank God at least it wasn't a car, I didn't have to answer to anyone.
Then this thing happens - I drop my camera. I may have dropped cameras before, on grass, or on pavement with its cover on. But this time, I had just taken it out of its case when I dropped it right flat on the concrete airport floor. Of course, it wasn't working anymore when I turned it on. I was that nervous, and stressed. Well, my daughter will probably find the vocation of her life on this trip. Just as my older son's future was sealed when those college applications were mailed? Defining moments, I believe.
