It was a beautiful Southern California morning (again); however, in my mind it was cold, dark, and dismal.  I was headed to the airport with my seventeen year old son as my co-pilot.  He was headed back to the East Coast to finish his senior year at Don Bosco Prep—a decision that forever changed my life and I am hoping changed his for the better.  In between the tears I kept thinking there has to be a “positive” to this day.  I was saying so long to my friend, my first of everything (when it comes to children), my half who understood and completed my thoughts, the young boy who I almost lost at birth, who now has grown into a young man literally overnight and hopefully a decent human being who would help to better the world.  All those thoughts did not bring me comfort, just gut-wrenching pain and wondering where my next breath was coming from.  As I walked him to security, I hugged him as hard as I could, feeling his wavy hair and inhaling his scent, praying all along that this was just a dream and I would soon be waking up to coffee and a truffle.  “I apologize, Michael, for any hurt I may have caused you; I love you more than you will ever know.  Be strong and know that I am just a phone call away.”

Okay, so where was the silver lining, the happiness knowing I had sacrificed for my first born?  I was waiting amongst the loud chatter in the courtyard, the smoke-filled “free air”, the beautiful blue sky, and my newly made mocha latte.  Trying to gather myself and my thoughts, crying in spurts and feeling embarrassed, while at the same time not caring about my emotional display, I digressed to the making my delicious latte.  A cute girl was patiently waiting as I New-Yorked in great detail how I wanted my latte made: “Grande, nonfat, two-pump mocha latte, with a tease of whip; and Oh, I will be watching, so please do not put in whole milk?  I need to rationalize my truffle this morning!”  She pleasantly obliged and I waited patiently.  Did I see her hand tremble?  Maybe, poor thing; she had no idea what I had just been through, and my t-shirt was not displaying my sad story.

As I was waiting, an attractive, elderly gentleman walked over to her and explained that his granddaughter was flying home and she could not take a certain product on the plane with her, and asked if the barista wanted it.  It caught my attention. One, because I heard something nice and two, it was a very expensive cleanser from a brand I know very well!  The kind young girl extended her graceful, but still shaking hand, and accepted the gift and said thank you. The gentleman turned to me, almost needing a co-pilot himself to back up his generous gift and asked, “This is a very good product, no?”  I said, “Oh, absolutely!  It was very kind of you to do that, and I would be more than happy to explain to the young girl what was just given to her.  She handed me my latte and said, “I am embarrassed; I do not know what this is or how to use it.”  I thought, “oh, relief!  I can stop thinking about my son and distract myself with helping out a stranger.”

I explained what the product was, how to use it, when to use it, how much to use of it, and what should accompany the product when she does use it.  This huge smile came across the face of a beautiful stranger and her thank you was the silver lining I was praying for.  I told her that this was not only an expensive product, but it was also a gift kindly given from a stranger, and that maybe she would like to pay it forward with another kind act to another stranger.  She stood for a moment, had a split thought, and said, “Thanks so much, I will.”  As I turned to walk away, my son’s plane flew overhead and a tear rolled down my face; however, it was accompanied by a fulfilling act of kindness.

Our airport goodbye

Live and love to the fullest extent.

xo,jo

(stay tuned for part two)