Long Awaited Trip

You only live once, don't let life pass you by.

They had been planning this trip for eighteen long years. Well, Sue had at least. Ever since the day her daughter was born she knew, she wanted to raise her with compassion for others and knowledge of the world. She didn’t want her to remain sheltered like most American children. Therefore, she started planning a backpacking trip that they would take together as mother and daughter through as many countries as possible. She made sure as her daughter was growing up to introduce her to other cultures as best she could, hoping to instill a little of her own wanderlust in the little child. At 5 years old, her daughter Jennifer told Sue that she wanted to go to Japanese.

“Japan, sweety. I would love to go there someday too. Maybe when you are older we can go there.” Through the years Jennifer started added her own twist to the trip. She wanted to visit all the countries with famous horse breeds. Sue was so excited, but she always worried that Jennifer would out grow the passion or want to go with friends instead of her boring mom. When Jennifer was in 5^th grade Sue started putting aside money for the trip. She subscribed to backpacking magazines and started planning a few trip to teach them the skills they would need to complete their trip.

Sue’s stomach flip-flopped as she prepared her backpack and gathered her passport and a few other necessities. Today was the day. They would fly to Japan, make their way to the Arabian Peninsula where they would spend a couple days to take horseback riding lessons then head off to England where she would fly to her home town of Butler, PA and the trip would be complete.

She waited nervously for the town car that would take them to the airport. She never thought this day would actually come. All her friends told her to take the chance; you only live once, so with a deep nervous breath, Sue climbed in the town car. As the town car pulled away, she smiled to herself. She watched the California mountains change their shapes as she neared closer to LAX. She gently laid her hand on her daughter’s urn beside her. She wondered what had taken her so long.