Bon voyage

I just spoke to my parents. Dad wants to come to Brisbane to drive Heather and me to the airport when we go overseas. He'll drive for eight hours to get here, just to make sure he sees us off on our big trip. It's so lovely.

On the downside, I also had a really big argument with my mother because she demanded the contact details for Heather's parents. I said I'd give them to her on the weekend, but she got kind of melodramatic, and demanded them now. In response, I got increasingly resistant. Things went downhill quickly, and ended in much yelling and a small amount of profanity.

I called back a few minutes later and managed to discuss things more calmly. Mum, in particular, is just worried. She's always been an anxious person, and having me go overseas is a big deal. She doesn't think of it as a commonplace event, because she's never done it and none of her kids have, either. America is the scary, crazy place she sees on the news and Law and Order. It's no wonder she's scared. "Why do you have to be over the top, though?" I asked her.

"I've always been over the top about you. I'm not going to stop now," she said.

I just have to acknowledge their fears, I think. I also need to tell them our itinerary so that they feel a bit better informed. That way, hopefully their anxiety/excitement ratio will favour the excitement.