Missing My Momma

Having Mom here to see where I live was really special, and it was great being able to spend so much time with my mom. Now I have 2.5 weeks until my next visitor comes! 

Last Night (Mom’s Visit: Thursday)

(From Mom’s trip journal: Told from her perspective)

Well, it’s here; the last day of my trip. I was a bit sad today knowing I would be saying good bye to Jessie tonight, but made my mind up to enjoy the day and save the sadness for the plane trip home. I took Jessie to school today then went to Sadie’s for a good breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, and hash browns with coffee and tea. Yum! It was a good breakfast. At the table right next to me was the “60 Minutes” T.V. crew that has been filming here over the last week or so. I recognized the main broadcast guy, Scott ????, and could overhear a bit of his conversation thanking a Samoan guy for all the help with their filming and for use of a boat. I’m not sure who the Samoan guy is but possibly the Governor.  I learned later that they will be leaving on the same plane with me tonight. Note to self, be sure to find out when this 60 Minutes story will air. After breakfast I made a post office run for Jessie to mail some letters including some gifts from Western Samoa to her friends back at home. I also ran back to Jessie’s house to get her camera because I planned to take photos of Aiga buses after lunch. Jessie has an early lunch at 11:15 today, so I made it back just in time to pick up her lunch from Sadie’s (I ordered before I left) and get to her classroom before the bell rang. I sat with her while she had lunch then headed back to the house to get a shower and clean up before going back to pick Jessie up after school. I had to take the rental car back by 4:00pm so our plan was to take the rental car back to the Tafuna area, then ride a bus back to LauFou where we would meet up with Jessie’s friends for their regular “Thursday Night Dinner”.  Dinner was at 6:00 but we got to LauFou around 4:30 and worked on grading papers until everyone else arrived. I helped with grading the “Before the Bell” journaling, which I thoroughly enjoyed because it’s fun to read her students stories.  One by one, Jessie’s friends arrived. It was great to meet all of them after hearing Jessie’s stories about them all.  What a nice group of young people! After dinner, Scott, of the Scott and Taylor duo, gave Jessie and I a ride home. They are the only ones in the group with a car so they are used to giving rides.  Jessie took a little nap while I finished up a few things to prepare for my journey home.  It’s been a great trip and wonderful to spend the time here with Jessie, seeing where she lives and works and meeting the people she spends her time with here in American Samoa.  My flight leaves Pago Pago at 11:20pm tonight and I arrive in Houston around 10:30pm tomorrow night. It’s quite a journey.