As mothers tend to do, I flew to Nashville last week to help son number three who had a seizure and subsequent car accident. Angel has been happily living in Orlando with his biological brother, who looks just like him. He has a lively sister-in-law and two wonderful nieces on whom he lavishes an uncle’s love. He just happened to be in Tennessee to pick up an antique when the incident occurred.

I jumped on the first “puddle jumper” out of Green Airport that afternoon and landed in Newark to change into an airplane of a more respectable size. The Newark Airport was amazing. At T.F Green, I have to squat on the floor in order to plug my iPad in, whereas Newark not only provides iPads everywhere, but also electrical outlets and charging plugs at each of their very comfy seats and tables. There were so many seats that, even though the airport was crowded, there was plenty of room for everyone. While seated, I used the complimentary iPad to order food from one of the surrounding restaurants and was thrilled when a Wendy’s “four for $4.44” showed up at my table, complete with salt, ketchup and my precious Diet Coke. While seated, I glanced out the huge floor to ceiling windows and my heart caught in my throat. A huge, orange moon was rising in the distance at horizon level. The runways and the parked planes were visible with the looming backdrop of New York City across the river. The sight caught me by surprise. Although I am familiar with the geography of the area, it was still a shock to see such an iconic city morphed by a rising moon.

My plane ride to Nashville was uneventful but pleasant. With a television monitor and set of ear plugs, I browsed through the channels the same way I do from home, settling on “Below Deck” where the staff never cease to entertain me. My assumption is they let the staff go out drinking after each charter is over in order to gain juicy material for the show. It seems there is always one deck hand who gets super drunk and tries to get overly friendly with one of the stewardesses, only to forget the whole thing the next day, leaving the young woman, who was already thinking commitment, in tears.

I Ubered from the airport to the hotel to meet Angel. It was theoretically only a short ride $12 from the airport, but with an accident relegating the freeway down to one lane, it took almost an hour to get there. (Yes, I threw the appreciative Uber driver another $20 for the extra time it took.)

Angel looked a little worse for the wear. Being a typical mother, I cringed at the sight of his long, straggly hair and unkempt beard, but my instinct was to ignore all that and provide him with parental love and support. He was in tears as he discussed the accident caused by his seizure and, with my arm around him, we commiserated. I’m glad I could be there in person to help.

We were able to pick up his repaired car the next day and went out to eat at Cracker Barrel, a favorite of ours. He was especially excited to get the little bottles of maple syrup to go on his pancakes, and frugally used only one so he could take the other home. After breakfast, we went to see the James Bond movie “No Time to Die,” which was awesome, and shared a huge container of “hot buttered” popcorn, something I had not done since before the pandemic. It felt so great to be able to go to the movies again!

After the movies, he drove me to the airport to take a plane home. It had been a short, but rewarding visit, and it confirmed the fact that we have done a good job raising him. This momma is smiling!