Parting was such sweet sorrow — until some silliness was added
By Janai “Grandma Boom” Mestrovich
We were on our way to the airport after a wonderful visit over the holidays. It was 8 a.m. as I drove my son to the Medford airport. He is not particularly a morning person but I am. So out of my mouth comes a declaration on that day when we had to part.
“Darion, I get tired of feeling sad after we’ve had such a good time. When you leave, the sadness rolls in and dampens the good times we have shared over the holidays. It happens every time you come to visit. I need a change. I want to focus on the happy times and not go into sadness. So, I want to transform the sad into glad.”
His early morning half-opened eyes glared at me. “Mom, it’s 8 a.m. I don’t know what you are wanting to do.”
“Just trust me, Darion!” His tired eyes rolled up into his forehead. “Mom, it’s early!”
We arrived at the airport and he checked in. His look told me he was feeling pretty unsure about what I might be up to. As he walked toward me with his carry-on, I repeated my plea. “Just trust me.” He repeated his questioning look.
“I need to laugh and do something funny. I want you to hand your cell phone to a stranger to take a picture of me trying to keep you from going.”
“Mom!”
“Darion! I am not going to feel sad when you leave, and we are going to do something fun.”
I found a stranger. It’s not easy for my son to hand over his cell phone to someone he does not know. But he was very aware he was not going to talk me out of this. He sometimes says I am stubborn. Haha! Sometimes I am!
“Darion, I am going to lay down on the airport floor and grab your leg like I am trying to pull you back and keep you from going on the plane.”
Well, you should have seen the look he gave me. But he also knew there was no way out of it. He gave in and got into the role play. The stranger took the photo and was laughing. Other people were laughing. I was laughing. And, yes, when Darion saw the photo, he was laughing. Not only that, but he posted on Facebook and got more likes (over 200) than he’d ever gotten on any post.
The result? I was glad, not sad. I felt at peace with changing an uncomfortable pattern into something that has given us miles of smiles and laughter. It has become tradition and rolled into costumes on many visits, including my son now getting creative with how we can part and have fun. What’s more, many of his friends and mine let us know they are excited to see what we come up with next.
This has evolved into costumes and being fun when he arrives in town. In fact, at first when I would show up to greet him in some outlandish costume at the airport, security questioned me. It has happened so many times that now they just grin and say “hi.”
I’d have to say that transforming sad to glad was one of my great accomplishments in adult life with my emotions. Satisfaction guaranteed for new improved inner peace when going back to solitude and just my cat to talk to as I smile!
Janai “Grandma Boom” Mestrovich is executive director of Superkid Power Inc. and author, speaker/trainer, pioneer; she teaches human potential skills beginning at age 3 with creative experiences. www.superkidpower.org or janailow@gmail.com.
Want to contribute? Send 600- to 700-word articles on all aspects of inner peace to Richard Carey (rcarey009@gmail.com).
