And I'm not talking about a car.
According to my stepmom, my 85 year old father has taken to pushing those boundaries by driving his car as close to empty as possible before hitting the gas station.
He's missed the mark twice now, but I digress...
I'm talking about what every soul needs to function properly - nature.
Given the events of the last month (son #2's move to Toronto, son #3's move into my apartment - with all his stuff - then out again, and son #1 shooting his first film short), I've been oh... busier than Tim Horton's coffee shop during final exams.
Don't get me wrong. I love being there for them and not because I have to - I don't do guilt - but because I genuinely like them as human beings. They're so worth it.
BUT, even though I knew I was going to miss my kid like crazy when he left, somewhere near the end of his life-in-Winnipeg-as-he-knew-it, I HAD to take a break.
Given we were closing in on the final days however, I was hesitant.
I mean what kind of a mother ditches her kid for two days when he's only got 5 days left and is stressing (and rightly so) over the monumental changes he is about to incur?
Answer: The kind who knows she needs to refuel and if she doesn't, risks doing more harm than good because everyone will be running around like chickens with their heads cut off at which time her maternal cue to perform "damage control" will kick in.
And that had disaster written ALL OVER IT.
So I buggered off.
The way I had it figured, I would come back and the worst would be over, ( worst being a relative term).
That would leave me with 3 glorious days of hanging out with him post-trauma before his one way flight to his new life.
Back in June I had planned a short, 4 day trip to a friend's cabin after my son's projected date of departure. But when that date was pushed back, I was left with a difficult decision:
Do I stay and help him move? Hang around, providing moral support, soup and my incessant motherly advice?
Or do I pretend he's an adult and trust he'll be fine with the support he already has, knowing I'll come back emotionally rejuvenated and thus better prepared to absorb the magnitude of this change in my own existence?
It was a no-brainer.
And whatever minor hesitation I had initially experienced was sated the moment I saw him upon my return:
Him: Be happy you weren't here. It was awful!
Me: I know. Why do you think I left?
Him: You should have seen the sketchy characters from the moving company take our stuff! They even made me sign a waiver that they weren't responsible for any damage, loss, fire, theft or ACT OF GOD that might occur between here and Toronto!
Me: (smiling calmly)
Him: I wouldn't be surprised if our stuff showed up on Ebay.
Me: (smiling calmly)
Him: By the way, you look great... I'm glad you went.
-----
Next: The art of knowing when to refuel PART II - ahhhh, Mother Nature
