We made the decision to say goodbye to the boys at the curb since they couldn’t come through security anyway. I would get a few hours in the airport with her before my own flight to Greece. The two-hour drive to the airport was a long, silent build-up, and the goodbyes were hard, as expected! Ok, maybe not-so-expected were the tears shed by her little brother. He’s usually so unemotional! Katreina said Frank teared up, too, but I missed that through my own tears!
Check in and security were a breeze, and then we headed to the Air France/KLM lounge (the perk of being a Priority Pass member!) to relax, eat baguettes (of course), sip wine, and say our long goodbye. And damn, it was hard! I’m tearing up just writing about it! It felt just as heart-wrenching as my departure on deployment in 2010 did. I mean, we have tons of technology to keep us connected and I’m not at all worried about her safety, but this mom loves hugs and silly, spontaneous moments. I will miss that with her for the next 10 months. And there’s a fair chance that her brother will get sick of me!
Katreina’s flight was a little delayed, but she made it and survived a long screening line to join her orientation group in Paris! Over three days they had presentations about what to expect in France, went to the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre, and took a river cruise on the Seine.
She departed the U.S. on Monday and by Thursday evening she was settled in to her new room and having dinner with her French family in Tours. It’s been a busy week for her, but she seems to be holding up quite well! She’s off on an end-of-summer trip with the family before school starts next week. Her adventure is underway! 🇫🇷
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