Seventeen years ago, after an alarmingly long and difficult delivery (screw you, Gisele Bundchen), Aidan was born. At 8 pounds 10 ounces, he had forceps marks on his head, a black eye, a bent over ear, and was the most beautiful thing anyone had ever seen. We spent 5 days in the hospital, where he slept right next to me in his lasagne dish. When we got home, we put him in a cradle next to the bed. He had his own room, with a great big crib, but it seemed so far away. When he was two weeks old, John insisted I go out by myself for an afternoon– to the mall, ANYwhere – just to wean myself away for a bit. I was back within the hour. It’s no use, I told John. He’ll be gone soon enough.
Aidan wasn’t a clingy kid, but nor did he care to venture too far afield. An only child for almost 6 years, he was a total homebody. He made it through kindergarten, but in grade one, after his first full day at school, he tearfully told us at dinner he just didn’t think it was going to work out. Eventually, of course, it did. When he was 10, he actually went away to sleepover camp. For a whole three weeks. The experience damn near killed him (and me), but he did it. As time has passed, he has edged out further and further into the world. He’s gone on school trips, visited friends, and found that there’s a big world out there, and he has a place in it.
Almost two weeks ago, we put him on a plane to India, where he and a group from school are spending the month working in an orphanage, with kids who have no family to miss them, or parents to worry what time they’ll be home. He has called a few times to say he’s having a blast, that the sights and sounds and smells are unbelievable, that the heat is intense, the people are cool, and yes, he misses his family and his dog and his own bed, but mostly his own bed. If he’s homesick, he’s not saying. He’ll celebrate his birthday there next week, 12 thousand kilometres from home. He’ll be back at the end of the month, but not for long. He has a summer job out of town, then one more year of school, and then off to university. And he won’t look back. He’s a great guy, confident, kind, taller than a tree, and up for anything. He’ll be fine. He IS fine. Soon enough is here.  
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