This is my mom, Sandy, at my sister’s wedding last year (Debbie is the cute little blonde bride). Well, today my crazy mom is on her way to Israel, Jordan and Egypt with my Aunt and Uncle and cousin today! All day I’ve been thinking of her on the plane to Frankfurt, Germany and then onto Egypt. They are going with a tour group – Pilgrim Tours - and this particular route is called the Exodus Tour. This is all the famous sites mentioned in the Old Testament.
I only say crazy because my mom is very particular about things and prefers to limit her travels to Hawaii (my aunt and uncle live there) and San Diego (my other aunt lives there). Oh, she likes the rock & mineral shows at Quartzsite, Arizona every January too- but pretty much, that’s it. When Debbie and i were little, i remember a family vacation where we unsuccessfully tried to find the Grand Canyon. Honest. The biggest canyon in the world and we missed it. She doesn’t really like adventure, even though she’ll state otherwise. Unless it can provide her with a funny story. And she has a lot of those. But this trip is WAY out of her comfort zone… and i’m thrilled she’s doing it.
My mother’s side of the family have always been heavily into missionary work – in fact, my Uncle Tom (mom’s little brother) and my Aunt Nancy met while in school in Africa. My grandparents have spent most of their years in Tanzania, Tel Aviv and later on, Geneva. After my grandparents passed away, my mom realized she missed out (she rebelled most of her adult life) and is now playing catch up. My Aunt, Uncle and cousin, Michelle, who works in Honolulu as an interior designer (she rocks!) invited Mom on this trip. They are Calvary and my Mom is Hope Chapel. My mom has her own theories about religion, many of which are just her own theories (including how Area 51 in Roswell, NM as well as early feminism fits into Christianity!), and so i’m sure there’ll be some interesting debates between them all on this trip.
As for safety? “WOW! Your mom is going WHERE?! NOW?!” has been the most asked question of me. But I completely trust my Uncle Tom’s judgement. He’s a pilot for Hawaiian Airlines, he has travelled extensively with his family and he’s a smart guy. He subscribes to the philosophy ”IF NOT NOW, WHEN?” I agree with that. If they weren’t on a tour group, I might be more concerned, but they are with a company that does this regularly. I also know my mom has been through 13 years of agony after the death of my dad- depression & alcoholism, so now anything that shakes her up and motivates her to LIVE HER LIFE has my vote.
But I’m not above asking for a few good thoughts for them!
