And He's Off!

Yesterday Nicky officially left home to serve his mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He did ten days of training from home, and now he is safe and secure in the Mexico City Missionary Training Center for the next five weeks. He'll be having a rigorous education in the Spanish language, and then in August he will head to Puerto Rico!

(That's the first time I've written his mission location on the blog). 

We spent all day Wednesday getting him packed and ready to go. We bought him two pairs of mission shoes a few weeks ago, and the stinker never tried on the black pair (we bought them online), so when he finally put them on, he was shocked that they didn't fit. That left us scrambling for another pair of shoes at the last minute. 

Then I kept thinking of things like, "Oh! I better put tweezers in his luggage!" (he stepped on a cactus two weeks ago and still has some spines in his foot - which makes me nervous). And "Oh! He might need a Sharpie to write his name on stuff!" Early yesterday morning I was worried that his apartments might not have a can opener. Is my son smart enough to buy a can opener if he needs one? I'm not so sure. What about scissors? I made sure to get him some toenail clippers because I know he won't buy any! He'll just gnaw his toenails off or wait for them to break off on their own. 

I packed him a bunch of stuff I know he'll never use - like an umbrella and an apron. We packed one large suitcase and one small suitcase, which is less luggage than he is allowed (two large suitcases and one carryon), and he still had a bit of space. I hope we didn't forget anything. If Nicky had his way, he'd just have a backpack with one change of clothes and maybe a toothbrush, and that's it. 

I had no idea how I would feel sending him off. I was okay until it was time to say goodbye, and he got teary eyed and a little emotional, which made me get teary eyed and a little emotional. Truth be told, two years is dang long. 

Dang.

Long.

I know I'm not the first mother to do this - I'm not special - but holy moly. What a unique heartbreak it causes to send your child out into the world. A friend said to me today, "Your child is right where you want them to be, yet it's still so hard to let them go." Amen, friend. Amen!

We were told that he would be able to email us to let us know he made it to Mexico City. The email finally came at 9:11 pm. He's fine, and he's happy. And I’m relieved, and I can’t wait to hear from him again. 

I wrote back and told him that if he has a liquid Code Brown, there is Imodium and Pepto in his suitcase. Does my kid know what to do if he gets diarrhea in Mexico? Probably not. Will he listen to me? Probably not. But at least I tried. The care of his bowels is entirely up to him now. 

His toenail maintenance is entirely up to him now.

His can opening method is entirely up to him now.

Can this boy live without his mom? I hope so, and yet, I hope not.