All of you with older children...do they ever grow completely up and you quit worrying about them? Please tell me this does happen
My oldest son is 22 years old and graduated in May from college. He has been back-packing through Europe since the end of May (by himself). He was scheduled to come home mid August. A day or so ago he had emailed and said he left his credit card at the last hostel he stayed in, which was in Krakow. He had taken a train to Germany and was 10 hours away. He knew for a fact they had his card, but they wouldn't send it to him and he didn't have enough cash to get back there on the train. We told him we would western union him the money and to let us know, he said he was going to his bank chain in Munich to see if they could help and would let us know. Nothing. So we figured he worked it out.
Last night he calls us in the middle of the night and gets my husband on the phone (first mistake). He is in Paris at Charles De Gaulle Airport and is coming home early. They want 100 dollars or a credit card to change his flight, of course he has neither. He wanted us to call British Airways and give them a CC # for the $100.00. This is 1 in the morning our time and BA is closed until 7 am. We tried to call BA in England, no luck. We tried to call Charles De Gaulle airport, nope, no paging, no BA no nothing. So we are sitting around trying to figure something out, and he calls again...immediately he is cut off. We call relatives in England to see if they can call BA from there, BA won't help them, they cannot disclose anything about him, even with his flight login info. They won't let them leave a cc # either. We wait until 7 am this morning (L O N G T I M E )
and we can't get anywhere with BA. I call western union and send money to him that he can pick up anywhere in Paris, France and email him on the off chance he is somehow able to check email. At this point I am frantic! We finally get an email from him, he cannot call home collect, they will not take our CC # on the phone, he MUST have cash or a CC in hand and he has not eaten in 2 days, except for 3 tums. France is 7 hours ahead of us, so he is going to a Western Union place when everything opens hopefully to get the money. Of course, he nor I know exactly WHERE a Western Union place is...I am praying he finds one without too much trouble. As of 9:45 pm my time tonight he has not picked it up. He said he stayed in the park last night with the bums (in his email, the same one where he has only eaten 3 tums in the last two days and he is thirsty.)
How in these days of technology can this happen??
I know it will work out and he will get home, but this waiting is killing me.
He is college educated in Engineering, which he accomplished in 3 1/2 years, while working the whole time. He paid for his whole trip himself. He is going to grad school for physics...this guy is no dummy....How on God's green earth did he get himself in this fix???
Please send some good thoughts his way (and mine and his dad's too, please)