My Mom, My Kryptonite.

Moms.  How is it that they are able to do the things they do?  Mom’s have the distinct ability to bring even the mightiest of men to their knees with nothing more than some subtle Jewish Guilt and a firm hug.  By no means am I implying that I am like Achilles with emotional muscle, but I do consider myself a fairly emotionally strong individual.  Unfortunately for me, today my mom shot an arrow and hit me right above the heal.

What a weird feeling it is saying goodbye to my family knowing that I probably won’t get to hug them again for a very, very long time.  Val, Becca, and my mom all drove me to Philly today to send me off.  After hugging my sisters, offering a high-one to the first and an odd-sound evoking tight squeeze to the other, it was my mom’s turn to feel the passive aggressive, emotional wrath of a departing Peace Corps Volunteer.  

It’s strange to admit this, but holding back a river of tears while hugging my mom was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.  As we embraced, she said one thing to me, and it happened to be the one thing that she could have said to make me crack.  I’m embarrassed that I had to ask her to not finish the sentence for sake of embarrassing myself by breaking down in front of my sisters.  The last thing I want is to give them any sort of material to make fun of me for, and I was about five words away from having my tear ducts mimic Niagara Falls and subsequently flooding the lobby of the Holiday Inn.  Even as I sit here now, it hard to think about it.  Alas, we said our goodbyes and I walked the long walk down the hallway to begin my long-awaited career as a US Peace Corps Volunteer.  That walk sucked.

Thanks again for the ride mom.  Thank you for all the support you’ve provided this pack year and a half.  Thank you for the food and the shelter (big thanks to the old man too!), and for all the help with preparing both physically and mentally for this adventure.  Thank you for the help packing and for your patience with me as I wait to start packing the night (read: 6 hours) before we left for Philly.  I love you very much.

My mom, my Kryptonite; My mom, my Paris.