Travel Stories & Inspiration

How Traveling with my Mom Made me Love Her even more.

Dear Mom, I Promise to take You to another Flight  Again

The moment she knew that we were taking her to a vacation which would involve riding on an airplane, she couldn’t hide her excitement. She was like a child who just received a surprise present on her birthday.

Well, it was her birthday and for the longest time, she has been celebrating her special day in the same fashion. This time, I wanted to give her something extra special. I knew she was going to like it and I’m glad that I didn’t go wrong for the present.

Mom lives far from us. 

She’s in my hometown, Pangasinan, a 5-hour bus ride from Manila where I live. At home, she’s been working hard alone, doing her hobbies—dressmaking, feeding her pets and looking after her pigs, poultry composed of ducks and a goose, and domestic pet dog and cat. She never wanted to live or stay with me for a long time in the city even though I kept asking her to, but she would stay only for a couple of days.

She loves the home that she and my late dad built together where they raised a beautiful family. A family wherein everyone loves one another. Our home will always be my home wherever I go and I will always go back no matter what. It’s a home where she and my grandfather’s story keeps repeating in my mind ever since I was born.

My mom wanted me to be a doctor, but we didn’t have enough to support that dream. For me though, it’s okay, because I’m afraid of seeing blood and she’s fully aware of it. She never pushed me to be someone I could never become, but she supported me all the way in this journey called life. I promised her that even if I would never be a doctor, I would always take care of her in every way I could and be her personal nurse when she’s old and weak and can’t recognize my face and voice anymore.

Mom had been through a lot—from losing the only man in her life 14 years ago and raising her five kids on her own to sending us all to school and getting up early to do her job as a dressmaker which has also become one of her instant sources of happiness.  She deserves all the best things in life, because she’s simply amazing. 

Whenever mom pays me a visit, she always chides me about everything going on around me and I always catch her staring somewhere afar. I live on the 17th floor of a high rise condominium in the center of the city, overlooking the airport. She always mumbles that she wants to ride on an airplane one day. Mom just turned 63. I never promised to her that one day I would make her dream come true, but I always jokingly told her that I would be her genie. She just smiles back and stares at me deeply right through my inner most self.

Mom is hilarious sometimes. She can’t speak English well, but she tries hard whenever I introduce her to my English-speaking suitor on Skype. Her reaction is just enormously amusing whenever they speak to each other. And she never fails to drop the bomb with “I think you should get married and have children, you’re getting old!Okay, mom, I’m not getting old, I’m getting young!  And she chortles like there’s no tomorrow! I won’t promise but I will do my best to give you a beautiful grandchild in the future. But please, not yet, as I haven’t found Mr. Right. haha! Remember you told me to choose carefully?

I thank mom for standing by my side when all else fails, especially during those times that I was down with after a failed romance. I never expected her to sympathize with me, but she showed her support and I could feel the sincerity of solace overflowing on me. She made me feel that I was never alone in battling the heartache. She gave me fruitful pieces of advice and showed compassion. She also let me open my eyes and see the reality of falling in love and getting heartbreaks and never failed to tell me, “Follow your heart and take your brain with you.”

To this day, she still teaches me how to save money and be thrifty; to think about my future. Sometimes, arguments between ensue, because we have conflicting beliefs. Still, she lets me be. She endlessly and unconditionally loves me and I know that she’s be more than willing to help me stand after numerous stumbles on the road. She’s the wings beneath my wings and I will always be grateful for being her daughter. Her laughter and smile is genuinely angelic. The wrinkles on her face are just signs of graciously ageing, but her heart will be forever young. In fact, she wears sexy swimwear like a model on the beach! Beat it!

Mom and I may not understand each other sometimes and create ridiculous arguments over small matters, but we’re always fun. It’s like a love-hate, mom-and-daughter relationship and it’s normal.I took her to a trip because I knew it would be one of the most memorable birthdays she’d ever get. I wanted to make her happy and I wanted to make it up to her after missing her birthday for several years.

“I gained more than that what I expected. I witnessed how mom’s happiness metamorphosed after a long time in forever and seeing her that way gave me more than ecstasy. I genuinely believe that it’s every daughter’s dream to see her mom the happiest among the rest”.

What I got wasn’t the best airline, as I couldn’t afford that yet. It was a promo fare offered by a low cost carrier, but it didn’t really matter at all because the moment she stepped inside, she was beyond gratified and no words could express how much euphoric she was. I could say that she was the happiest passenger on that plane! If only there was an award for being the happiest passenger on that plane, she would be the winner for the blithe that she felt upon reaching the sea of clouds. Her happiness was contagious. I just watched and guided her, as it was her first time, but she did handle everything well by herself. Unfortunately, the flight was in the evening, so she wasn’t able to see the sea of clouds, but I promise, next time, I’ll make sure to book a daytime flight!

 

It wasn’t our first time to go out on a trip together. Mom, the rest of my family, and I have traveled to some places near our hometown. Being a big Filipino family that we are, we love family getaways. We were 6-15 members with kids in one van, or jeepney. How fun that is! You can’t imagine!  

https://www.instagram.com/p/BK-wL_vjqgz/?taken-by=escapesanddiaries

This recent trip has made a huge impact in my life. Being a woman and a daughter, whatever makes her happy, makes me ecstatic as well (we still have different interests but we agree on this). This is one way to be a bit bosom to my mom and it made me appreciate her even more. Mom is obviously old, and I passionately believe that she deserves a vacation that she’s never has had before regardless of the destination and expenses (of course, taking her to a plane ride is a big deal). It made me love her even more to the extent that I want do all the things that will make her happy again and again. One thing is for sure, old people are appreciative of the new things they experience especially if they’re from their children. 

It also made me get closer to my mom, as we were together for five straight days after a long time. We were able to share nostalgic moments together like never before and a mother-and-daughter relationship has been made stronger after I shared stories of what’s been happening in my life and talked about my trips and even about my love life. She knows little because she doesn’t have a Facebook account.

I love my mom and the trip made the love even more intense.  It gave us time to reminisce the old times, when my siblings and I were kids and were still by her side, when there was no stress; only joy. It made me learn so much more about her. The trip was heart pounding in a way that there was only happiness. Mom was the happiest.

During the flight, I pledged to myself that it would certainly not be the last. I promise to save more bucks, so I can tag her along my upcoming flights and I’ll make sure that it would be international next time. I will book a seat beside the window for her. I will take her to my favorite destinations and let her taste my favorite cuisines.

I love her from the very bottom of my heart. I love her beyond words and every single post on social media. I may not always show her how much I love her but I really do. She’s the queen of my heart and I promise not to stop making her happy the best way that I can. Dear mom, I promise to take you to another fight again.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BLANRMKju3x/?taken-by=escapesanddiaries

For once in your life, take your mom with you to one of your trips. Traveling with her doesn’t have to be costly, but make sure you give her a once in a lifetime experience that will forever remain in her heart. She’ll be forever thankful, not just for what you’ve done, but also for the beautiful things in her life. Without her, we wouldn’t be on this planet, enjoying the beauty of life. Our mom is the most amazing woman. Mom is love. ♡

 

Born, raised, and forever loyal to the Philippines. Catherine is a teacher and a BA in Mass Communication graduate who loves anything child-friendly. She loves writing in her diary every day and is in love with beaches, books, Safari, and Tokyo. Her ultimate dream destinations are Madagascar, Mongolia, and Hawaii. Check out her van camping adventures in Europe at vancampingguide.com.

7 Comments

  • Indrani

    Lucky you! Such precious memories of your travels.
    My mom is no more… she is gone long… I often recollect the travels I did with her. Pity I didn’t have a blog then. Loved seeing your pictures. I am glad you could make her happy. 🙂

  • Darlene

    Yay! Happy for you sis. I too aim to take my mom traveling more. Not just as a thank you but also so that I can fulfill some of her dream too! We are the lucky ones indeed.

  • Siddhartha Joshi

    What a beautiful and heartwarming story! Loved every bit of it…and could also feel the joy of your on her first flight! I don’t get to travel with my mom as much, I guess I do need to change that soon 🙂

  • The Dining Traveler

    Aww, this warmed my heart! So nice that you got to treat your mom on a nice trip, these are memories that are priceless. She looks so happy in the pictures! My mom hates to travel, wish I could treat her to a trip!

  • Paige Brown

    What a beautiful post! I too travel with my mother and I love her more and more on each trip that we take together. I love getting to watch her see something new for the first time, the same joy you got experiencing her first slight with her! Thanks for sharing such a sweet post.

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