Parents whose offspring are adults..

[ilovejack02]

I am 36 and my Mom flips a lid when I travel without DH.

I don't work, so I take my DS7 to visit relatives in Alabama and Georgia every summer without hubby. Usually gone 2 weeks or so. She calls me the whole time I am gone to check in and usually tries to convince me it isnt a good idea to go.
She is much calmer when we are with DH, but still worries some.

Parents worry.. it is our job .

 

[Judy in Texas]

I have a rule that my 35 yo daughter that we both abide by... as soon as the plane touches down, the person on the plane calls the other to report that the plane arrived safely. You might also check out www.flightaware.com. With the airline and flight number, you can track any flight real time. I've used it also to check out interesting geography I have seen while flying. You can zoom in on the map to check it out.

 

[Christine]

My DD has never flown anywhere on her own yet, but I would be antsy also and for the same reasons. I mean, what do you do if they miss their connection and can't get out until the next day? I guess you just book them a room somewhere??

Driving still makes me nervous. I trust my DD's driving skills but I guess it's everyone else I worry about.

Right now, she doesn't have a car at school, but she might next year. I will be VERY nervous when she drives home because parts of it are high speed, winding mountainous roads. Each time I've gone up there, I have passed quite a few accidents. There is also a lot of wildlife on parts of the drive. Another family member drove home from there last weekend and passed 10 cars pulled over to the side and one overturned vehicle. All due to deer.

Yep, I'll be a wreck when she makes that drive!

 

[DVCLiz]

DD21 is on the road as we speak coming home from school for Thanksgiving. I'm not on "pins and needles" but I am ready for her to get off the road - she called and said she was stopped in traffic around Charlotte - which is usual - so I want her to be clear of that and home safely!!!

Also, I have a bunch of chores ready and waiting for her!!

 

[DISNEY1975]

I just picked up DS, 2 weeks from being 19, from college and I was a nervous wreck coming home...and I was driving!! I kept thinking wouldnt it be awful if I had an accident, now, before Thanksgiving?

My sister let her DS12 fly by himself from MA to AZ last summer.

My mother told me and started out the conversation by saying "Now I know what Im about to tell you will have you thinking this is some sort of child abuse...BUT...your sister is letting your nephew fly to AZ".

I was a nervous wreck until he got home.

 

[Planogirl]

Interesting conversation. I didn't call my parents but they traveled a lot all their lives and took it in stride. I wonder if I'll want DS to call me though.

Would you still call your married kids? Just curious.

 

[quasar4legs]

For many of us that parent/child roles changes over time but it doesn't mean that we still don't care or worry about our children.

Just last week my 93 year old aunt was worrying about her 67 year old daughter heading off to egypt for a holiday. It never ends

 

[Poohs Pal]

My kids are in their 30's and I still worry. Not so much if they fly out of Flint but detroit is a completly different story. I also worry about missed connection's. Never had a reason to worry but it is my job and I do it well Susan

 

[Danauk]

I'm 33 and still always phone or text my mum from arrivals when ever we fly (even on transatlantic flights when it is very late at home). My dad usually tracks our flight on the internet! DH's parents on the other hand we don't phone, never have done.

 

[pumba]

Our son will be 40 this coming Friday......and I still worry about him and our daughter who is going to be 38 in a few months......it is part of being a parent....just because they are OLDER doesnt mean that we ever stop loving them or worrying about them......so dont worry.....next comes worrying about the kids spouses and then our grandkids.......part of the game...

 

[Planogirl]

I think that my parents cared but it just never occurred to any of us to call to say that we'd arrived somewhere safely. We did call to talk about other things though so I guess that might have covered it.

 

[NMAmy]

Thank you all for the supportive replies! I'm so glad I'm not the only one. I'm not usually a worrier so it always suprises me when something makes me this way. Of course, it didn't help that she forgot about the time difference between her college and the city she departed from and was running behind. Or when she called me and said, "Um, Mom. Is there more than one airport in Lubbock?" That was perfectly understandable what with the Pinnacle/Northwest/Delta merger mess.

I totally know how you feel NMAmy!! My sons are 29, 22 and 20 and I'm still calling or asking them to call me when they get to a destination.

When my oldest lived up at the Soo for two years and did a lot of recruiting for the college there, I was a basket case all the time. You know how Michigan winters "up north" can be and him driving in it all the time at all hours.!!!!

Heck, I know I wouldn't want to be driving up there! I'm too chicken to be driving in that much snow.

I have a rule that my 35 yo daughter that we both abide by... as soon as the plane touches down, the person on the plane calls the other to report that the plane arrived safely. You might also check out www.flightaware.com. With the airline and flight number, you can track any flight real time. I've used it also to check out interesting geography I have seen while flying. You can zoom in on the map to check it out.

Thanks so much for that site, Judy! I'll be checking it out.

Interesting conversation. I didn't call my parents but they traveled a lot all their lives and took it in stride. I wonder if I'll want DS to call me though.

Would you still call your married kids? Just curious.

I'm not sure, Planogirl. I don't have any married kids. I doubt it--when she travels elsewhere, I don't have this angst. She drives 6 hours across a pretty desolated area in NM and I'm fine. She flies other places and I'm fine. It's only when she's coming here or when she's meeting us in WDW that I stress.

I know it's not rational. I'm working on it.

Now she only has a 30 minute layover so I'll be nervous until she makes that second flight. After that, she'll be catching a bus from the airport to our city and I'll be fine with that.

 

[Feralpeg]

DD just called to say they are just now starting home. It is a four hour drive. There are storms developing now between Orlando and Tallahassee. Great. Yes, I worry!

 

[monkey68]

My mom can relate to you people. I'm 24, and whenever I go on vacation, or drive somewhere further away, the first thing I have to do when I arrive is call that I made it safely. When I was traveling in Europe, it wasn't feasible to call when I arrived in each city, my mom told me later that she didn't sleep well the entire time I was gone, she was worried if I missed my train or bus, or what would happen if I got into an accident in another country. Still, she doesn't stop me from going, and I know that she's going to worry no matter what I do or where I go or who I go with.

 

[dis-happy]

I'm waiting for my 20 year old to drive home from college. At least I talked to her when she was leaving so I know when to expect her, so counting down the minutes!

I'm NOT looking forward to her trip to Ecuador and the Galapagos this spring. It's a study program with her school and I really want to take the professor aside and ask him to keep an eye out, sometimes she has no common sense. What's a mother to do but worry?

 

[disney1990]

That's kind of an awkward start but "adult children" is kind of an oxymoron and just looked weird when I typed it.

Do you still get nervous when your kids are travelling? DD is 19. She's flown on her own a lot--since she was 13. I know she's perfectly capable and yet, I'm still on pins and needles waiting to hear that she's made it to the airport, she's made her connections, she's arrived safely.

I'm not a hoverer and I encourage her to be independent but, for some reason, air travel just makes me nervous. When she's driving for 6 hours from college to her dad's, I'm fine. It's only the flying that makes me nervous.

Your children are always going to be your children no matter how old they are. When my "children" travel, they always call me when they get there -- whether they are driving or flying. They don't mind and they know it gives me peace of mind.

 

[DVCLiz]

I'm waiting for my 20 year old to drive home from college. At least I talked to her when she was leaving so I know when to expect her, so counting down the minutes!

I'm NOT looking forward to her trip to Ecuador and the Galapagos this spring. It's a study program with her school and I really want to take the professor aside and ask him to keep an eye out, sometimes she has no common sense. What's a mother to do but worry?

My 21 year old daughter spent last semester in Ecuador - PM if you ever want any information. She loved every minute of it and would love to go back!!!

She arrived home safely after she cleared her big traffic jam so now we are starting the Thanksgiving preparations!!

 

[dis-happy]

My 21 year old daughter spent last semester in Ecuador - PM if you ever want any information. She loved every minute of it and would love to go back!!!

She arrived home safely after she cleared her big traffic jam so now we are starting the Thanksgiving preparations!!

OOOh, I'd love to talk to you more about this! Thanks!!!

 

[Lynn CC]

My son who graduated college this past May moved to Japan in June for graduate school he will be there for 3 years.
DH and I are missing him so much and with the holidays coming up we are just not that festive. We've been invited everywhere, we even thought of going away for a few days to one of our favorite destinations but we just don't have the spirit this year. I hope it gets better

We knew this time in our lives would arrive we tried to prepare ourselves while he was in undergraduate school but this has hit us like a ton of bricks, nothings the same. I will put on a happy face for DH and try to make it special for the 2 of us.

So enjoy your time with your kids everyone, I wish you all lots of fun with your babies, even though they are all grown up!


DVCLiz DD21 is on the road as we speak coming home from school for Thanksgiving. I'm not on "pins and needles" but I am ready for her to get off the road - she called and said she was stopped in traffic around Charlotte - which is usual - so I want her to be clear of that and home safely!!!

Also, I have a bunch of chores ready and waiting for her!!

I would play a board game or do something fun with her instead the chores will be there someday when she isn't home for the holidays....just a thought if you were serious.

 

[mskayjay]

Interesting conversation. I didn't call my parents but they traveled a lot all their lives and took it in stride. I wonder if I'll want DS to call me though.

Would you still call your married kids? Just curious.

yes, absolutely! I hope my children-in-law are as precious to me as my own children are and their safety along with the safety of my own children and someday grandchildren will still be very important for me. A phone call takes no time and the reassurance it provides is priceless. I remember when i was in college and would travel back to school and we still paid for every call.....I would call collect, ask for myself, my Mom would say "she isn't here", I'd say well just tell her I called and I love her and then hang up. She knew all was well.

Married, not married, big, little, I'm still Mom's baby and they're still mine!