Fixing My Heart's Scar

    Most anyone who's a mother knows who much pain a mother's heart experiences when she's separated from her child.  Both my children are adults now, but my daughter's torrent separation from me when she left for college ripped my heart apart.  Today I flew to Ohio to see her.  We've been making baby steps to building an adult relationship over the last year.
    Last summer I took her boyfriend and her kayaking on La Jolla Cove, since her boyfriend is an avid kayaker.  That went well, and I found that my daughter was proud of her outdoor knowledge that I had instilled within her.  She confidently answered the guide's question about why the cliffs were white---because the cormorants were nesting on them and that the white was poop.  She also hopped in to the cove and swam around showing no fear of sharks or the deep blue sea which impressed her boyfriend.
    My heart wrenched with longing for her, so today I flew to Ohio to stay with her over Mother's Day.  I've never visited her in Ohio before.  I have had no frame of reference to think about her---no kitchen for her to meander about, no stoop to visualize her sitting upon, no campus to think about her walking through.  I needed to have that frame of reference.
    She couldn't pick me up at the airport, because of her new job, so her boyfriend did.  Her boyfriend and I didn't know each other well, so it was a little tense.  I figured that it must be incredibly uncomfortable for him to be alone with a "mother-in-law" figure.  Plus, I'm sure that he's heard a lot of complaints about me via my daughter. 
    Once I started asking him about kayaking, he started to be more relaxed.  Trying to fit my luggage in his 2-seater Mazda was also a conversation piece.  When we arrived to their old craftsman home, I pulled out pictures of Sara throughout her life.  That really broke the tension.  We both shared a love for Sara.  He especially adored her childhood modeling pictures and wanted to frame them. 
     When Sara arrived home from work as a clerk at a bookstore, I found that she, too, loved those old modeling pictures.  Here I always figured that I had scarred Sara by dabbling with the modeling business with her and her brother, Drew.  I guess that she actually was fond of those pictures after all.
      I noticed that Sara had lost a lot of weight and her face had lost its baby fat.  She was an independent woman, not my little girl anymore.  I couldn't believe that I have such an adult daughter---all dressed up professionally, towering over me, and in complete command of her life!
      She even insisted upon taking me out to dinner, since I had traveled all that way.  We ate at this upscale restaurant in downtown Akron.  I ordered the beef shoulder which she recommended, and it was outstanding.  The pink elephant martini, her Ohio cousin's favorite, was also quite delicious and extremely potent.  We laughed and truly enjoyed each other.  I loved watching how her boyfriend adored her, as well.

      When the check arrived, my daughter still insisted upon paying for it, because she now has her first job and can pay for my dinner!   I did take a picture of that.  That's monumental.  That's for which all parents strive---to launch their children properly, so that they can have a productive and happy life.  I've done my job. :-)

P.S.  To my blog readers:  If you want to support a struggling math/engineering teacher and author, please buy my first book, "The Romance of Kilimanjaro," soon to be followed by my second book at:  https://www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore/book.php?w=9781613464960         Thank You!