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The Daily Mom

Letting Go of a Traveling Teen

My 19-year-old son is off for a ten-day college study abroad program in a region of the world that’s seen more than its fair share of turmoil. As I write this, I’m a nervous wreck, partly because he’s leaving in a half hour and he’s still not packed—something that really hits all my buttons as I’m the type that has the suitcases all zipped up and ready to go weeks in advance.

I know my obsessing as I prepare to send him out the door (“Do you know where your passport is? Don’t lose your ID. Are you sure you have your camera in you carry-on?”) is but a poor mask for my concern. (I’m a mom. We worry, right?) If only that extra sweatshirt or bottle of Advil will keep him safe. We’ve been through this dance before, so he understands. After an argument about why he waited until the last minute to get his stuff together, he let me hug him tight before sending him off with his Dad; I was too nervous for another goodbye. It’s not as if my kids haven’t traveled before; my son has journeyed throughout Latin America on his own and taught English to students there. It's just that this time he will be going to an area of the world where acts of violence can—and do— unfortunately occur pretty regularly.

Of course, mixed in with the worry is a large dose of guilt. Who am I to worry about my child when so many other moms are sending their sons and daughters off not merely to study, but to actually fight in war-torn areas far from home? Godspeed to all of our children. Please let them all return home safely.

PS: I wrote this entry a little over a week ago on the night my son left—but I was too superstitious to actually post it until he he had come home safe and sound. He just did. So here it is.