Finally Mom Arrives!

At last! One more day and after months of telling mom about Paris the day was almost here when I could SHOW it all to her! I spent my last day alone in Paris wandering around to find a dress I could wear to pick mom up and I found a cute black one with a bow and matching shoes in Chatelet Les Halles. I went to institute that night and spent time with the young adults. Late that night I got a note at my hotel from my dad’s secretary saying my mom’s plane had been delayed a few hours. The next morning I woke up super early to get ready and help a friend to the airport and waited what seemed like days for mom’s plane to arrive. Finally at long last she came out the doors and I yelled ‘Mommy!’ (Very un-Parisian like to yell in public) I ran over to her and we hugged very tightly, both tearing up and laughing! We were ecstatic to see each other! We sat down on the nearest bench and I proceeded to talk a million miles an hour. A dream-come-true to be able to have mom here in my Parisian world. From minute one I was so thrilled I couldn’t stop smiling. Though mom hadn’t slept in 24 hours she was not about to rest yet. We hopped on the metro and headed for the outskirts to take her luggage out to the Julienne's home, but on the transfer at Chatelet station we had quite a mishap. A woman had a heart attack on the RER line A train at the next stop and trains weren’t pulling out for hours. I knew the metro so I knew we had one other possibility: to take the Metro 1 line out and go around the problem. I should have realized I wouldn’t be the only one to try this backup plan. In less than a minute Chatelet became Grand Central Station at rush hour on Christmas Eve..times ten! Shoulder-to-shoulder doesn’t even come close to how this felt. Squashed from all sides and moving without our feet on the ground is more like it. I felt awful that this was mom’s first experience in Paris but when I looked up ahead of me, she was laughing! She was not panicking, just laughing! After a few hours of madness we decided to stay in Paris until our arranged dinner with my dear friend Elizabeth and her mother. We hopped out of the metro at Saint Michel station in the Latin Quarter to meet our friends and as soon as mom saw the fountain, she said “I love Paris!” I laughed and dragged her across the street so she could see the view and she awed when she saw the Seine, Notre Dame Cathedral, and the view from the right bank. We took this picture with her luggage and despite the rain, were still on cloud nine to be together! I took mom to my favorite Greek stand squished between the shops in the Latin Quarter. We got a lamb kebab with cucumber sauce and herbs de Provence. I was so glad that mom loved it like I did, despite the sketchy way it’s cooked on a spit right on the side of the road. Though the rain never let up, we happily stayed outside with Elizabeth and Amy. After awhile I took mom back to the Julienne’s home on the train. She loved the neighborhood and I couldn’t wait to show it to her in the daytime! Once we arrived, looking like drowned rats, Mom met the Juliennes and gave them dozens of gifts from America-they said it felt like Christmas! We hopped in bed and mom crashed in T minus 3 seconds.