After one month of constant motion, I was ready to get from Philly to Madrid and no longer be responsible for anything or anyone but myself. Don't get me wrong, being at home with my parents and Claudia before I leave for college was incredible; I took her downtown to my favorite parts of the city, spent impossible amounts of calories at WaWa, saw friends I haven't seen probably since the exchange back in January, and explored my home city like a tourist. But when all is said and done, the stress of creating this grand adventure for both her and me became exhausting physically, mentally, emotionally, and financially not just for me but for my family, too. So when it was time to turn around and start the next leg of the trip, let's just say that I was looking forward to a few quiet hours and nothing to do on an airplane.
We arrived at the airport on Monday (July 11) with bags in hand, Claudia in tow, passport ready for its next stamp. But as it turns out, my passport, which expires at the end of August, was invalid according to European regulations which require American passports to be good for three months past the last date of your trip. AKA, two months too short for me to have been able to fly on Monday. Go figure. We put Claudia on a plane, and Mommy and Daddy and I went home in a surreal moment of "where are the cameras, who's playing this sick joke?"
Mommy's and my day started at 6:15 a.m., and we were in line at the passport agency by 7:30 to renew my passport and have me on a 6:45 p.m. flight to Madrid. If this hasn't tested my cortisol levels, I don't want to think about what it would take to do that. But I must say, as shitty and stressful as all of that was, Mommy and I took advantage of our bonus day together. We grabbed breakfast after taking care of my passport, went home and hung out with the dogs, went back to the city to pick my passport up and had a delicious lunch at Amada before heading back to PHL Int'l Airport.
I don't always believe "everything happens for a reason," but I do believe in pausing, learning to adjust to whatever change of plans I'm dealing with, and enjoying the simple things, like a few extra hours alone with my two favorite people in the world.
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