My Travel Companion
From Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Magic of Mothers & Daughters
By Patricia M. Rompca

A daughter is a gift of love.
~Author Unknown

Our son, Senior Airman Matthew J. Rompca, and his wife Sunny had recently had a baby — Azriel Jadyn — in Germany where he is stationed at Ramstein Air Force Base. He has been stationed there almost a year and we had not seen him in all that time. He desperately wanted us to come for a visit. I am by nature a homebody and very reluctant to fly. The prospect of flying alone on a journey of this length was mind boggling, as my husband, Len, was unable to get away due to work. I finally relented and made my travel plans.

About two weeks before I was due to leave, Len and I had the opportunity to visit our daughter, Annemarie, at Indiana University. Annemarie, our only daughter, was the last bird to leave the nest. It seemed like only yesterday that I was tucking her into bed with her favorite teddy bear. Being the only two girls in a house full of men, we learned to stick together. And now she was a lovely young woman, off on her own. (Keep reading)