My Mom Visits the World

My mom is leaving today for a trip to England and France.  While that may not seem like a big deal to some of you, it is a HUGE deal.

Europe will be the seventh continent she has visited.  Yep – that’s right – her seventh continent.  She will have been to them all!  I am so very impressed and also extremely proud of her!

Regular readers already know how much I adore my mom.  She is an incredible person and her influence on and importance in my life cannot be overstated.  She is supportive, generous, encouraging, and kind, and her sense of adventure is nothing short of inspiring.  I love her more than I would ever be able to express in a simple blog post.  In short, she is amazing.

I wanted to get her a small gift in honor of such an extraordinary accomplishment, and I could think of nothing more perfect than an Origami Owl locket filled with charms.  But not just any old charms.  Seven specific charms – one for each continent.

So here are the charms I chose and what they stand for:

North America – a cactus to represent the southwest of the U.S.

South America – a turtle to represent the Galapagos Islands

Europe – the Eiffel Tower to represent France

Asia – a flower to represent the orchids throughout Asia

Africa – a rainbow to represent Victoria Falls in Zambia

Australia – a sea star to represent the Great Barrier Reef

and finally…

Antarctica – an anchor to represent the sea voyage she took to get there!

Here are a few photos:

You'll notice I also got her a camera charm and an airplane charm, but I couldn't fit them in with the other seven charms.  The great thing is that they'll be perfect for another locket she has!

So as we send my mom off across the Atlantic tonight, we will wish her "Bon Voyage!" and look forward with great anticipation to her photos and stories when she returns.

I am still in awe.  SEVEN continents.  We've got a lot of catching up to do…my continent count stands at two and C's stands at three (he was able to go to Australia for work).  I see much trip planning in our future!

Happy Tails to you!