my son the earth roamer

I journal. I journal for a variety of reasons...to process, to vent, to capture, to create, and to remember. The “to remember” reason is futile, really, as I have stacks of journals over my lifetime and it would almost take a lifetime to find a particular entry! So long ago, I settled upon the idea that all memories are accessible in my psyche somewhere and will reveal themselves when appropriate, and this hopeful possibility has just manifested! I am so tickled!

Last week, Mason returned home to Colorado after four months of international travel. Yes, he has quite an envious life...first he spent several weeks in New Zealand and Australia with Taylor Swift Red Tour, then a couple of weeks in Barbados with a close friend, then a few weeks in Iceland with another dear friend, and ended up with several weeks in Europe with TS tour again. Wow!

All through these months, I was able to connect with Mason through texts, and, even more satisfying, through Facetime.  He was not only on a physical journey, but a spiritual one as well. He marveled at the deep connections he made with so many different people in each of these countries. His heart was open and he experienced instantaneous bonds with people who were strangers just moments before. These experiences and new relationships were deep and profound to him and he was overflowing with love and gratitude.

On our drive home from the airport, he was sharing more about the love he felt for his old friends, for his new friends, as well as for himself. At that moment, we drove past a building with the business name of “Earth Roamer.” We both giggled at the apropos “not coincidence” of that label for him, as he had literally been an earth roamer for the previous four months.

In the next moment, the “memory miracle” materialized from nowhere, or maybe everywhere! I remembered one of my Toastmaster meetings over 10 years ago that I had brought Mason to. He was around 10 years old at the time. Questions were asked to different members of the audience and Mason was asked, “What do you want to be or do when you grow up?”  He walked up to the podium and emotionally answered, “I want to fly on a plane around the world and share love.”

He surprised me with his response, and even himself it seemed, and yet everyone in the room felt his passion and his genuineness. This was a moment of innocence and purity that revealed the heart and deepest desires of this kid. 

At the age of 20, my son the Earth Roamer has embarked on his journey of flying on a plane around the world and sharing love.