It Is Getting Harder To Say Goodbye

It gets harder to say goodbye to my mom when she leaves.

It gets harder to say goodbye to any of my family members when I get to see them. A year away from my mother, father, and brothers feels like an eternity.

I wasn’t always this way. I left the nest before anyone else in my family did. I lived in St. Louis for three years, Florida for three years, California for six months and then eventually Montana. I was never homesick, at least not until a few years ago.

My first couple of years here, we did not visit my hometown. We didn’t have the means. As our pay got a little better, and we had our first-born son, we made it a point to visit my family, so that they could see our son and eventually both sons for a few days out of the year.

I quickly learned that a few days did not seem like much.

Over the years, my parent’s house got emptier. My parents eventually decided to go their separate ways. The divorce did hurt, even in my mid-30s. Oddly enough, they both seem happier.

One thing is for sure; we are all getting older. Last week I threw my back out in a way I had never experienced before.

I was blessed to see my mother for my birthday week. She flew into Billings the first week of October. Being the last member of the Bibbs’ nest in my hometown, Susan and I wanted to see her and know that she was okay.

It was awesome to see her and I believe that we showed her a good time. In addition to taking Mom around town, we took her to Canada to experience Medicine Hat, a place that several locals go to to get out of town.

We have been to Medicine Hat a few times this year, the first time was just to experience Canada, the second to do some back-to-school shopping, and this last time was to take Mom up North.

We had a good time. She had a chance to relax in the hot tub, experience the shopping, and try similar but different food.

I had the opportunity to make my mother coffee every day. It took me a couple of times to figure out how she liked her coffee, but I eventually nailed it.

The worst part of Mom’s trip was taking her to the airport. We were both younger. I am thankful that Susan was able to come with me to say goodbye because I probably would’ve cried the whole way home from Billings, or at least until I stopped in Grass Range to get a maple stick at the Ole’ Mercantile.