Brad, the
I'm still coming to terms with the idea that my youngest child, admittedly one who towers over me and could take me in a vocabulary or philosophy test any day of the week yet is still my baby, will be literally on the other side of the world for two whole months. He is part of a contingent of 44 students from WA who are all going to different areas of Italy and won't see each other for most of the time they are there. To top it all off, to allow them to get the best out of the experience, parents have been told to not contact their children while there (except for Christmas of course).
The biggest problem .. who am I going to verbally joust with now (because we all know this is about me!!)? Andrew doesn't enjoy it, Pete just goes off on a tangent and frustrates me no end, the dogs just bark until I shut up and the rabbit doesn't talk at all. And don't even get me started on the fish ... RUDE little creatures making faces at me through the glass!
Seriously though, I am so proud of him to wanting to take an adventure like this but am scared for him at the same time. I have to trust that someone I have never met, in a country I have never been to, will take care of my offspring and return him to me intact at the end of the two months (well .. in at least the same condition that he went over there in).
I asked him for permission to friend his host mother on Facebook, but I think he thinks I will embarrass him or something. He keeps muttering something about "social media blackout" and "going incommunicado" .. haven't quite worked out what he's on about :-)
Despite his brave façade, I think he is a bit scared too and also possibly just a wee bit pissed off at the overbearing mother trying to organise him to pack before he's ready (I'm surprised we haven't knocked the earth out of orbit with the amount of rolled eyes around here lately!)
Not long to go and he'll be on the plane on the first leg of a 16 hour journey to Rome ...
Buon Viaggio Braddles xxx
