We lost my Mother on the way to Montreal...

 

Soooooo...this just happened, two days ago, on Saturday.

My mother (84 years old) went to Newark airport before 2pm for a flight to Montreal, Canada. 

My eldest sister took her to check-in and requested a wheelchair for her to the gate. 

My mother was delivered to the gate.

Then the airplane stayed on the tarmac for almost three hours!

Then the plane took off...and (wait for it) circled the Newark airport for two hours and then came back to Newark airport at about 8pm, Saturday evening. 

My elderly mother, who does NOT speak fluent English, was confused....she sincerely thought she had arrived at the airport in Montreal, Canada. She calls her nephew, my cousin, and tells him she has arrived in Canada. He tries, in vain, to find my elderly mother at the Montreal airport while she is waiting for him at the Newark airport, unknowingly.

I knew almost everything about the three hour delay but not the circle back to Newark airport. 

AT 2AM!!!!!! My other sister finally picks up my mother after several hours of her (and us) not knowing she was BACK AT NEWARK AIRPORT.

Because she was confused, she did not notice there was not immigration or customs check, no French language written or spoken at the airport and the yellow taxis looked familiar instead of Canadian.

So the conclusion is my elderly mother is too old to travel alone, even just over the Canadian border. 

It makes me soooooo sad I just want to lay down and cry.

There were tears behind my eyes all day today while co-teaching my four classes today.

The thought of my Mother confused at the airport, calling her nephew and my sister, not even knowing what country she was in, makes me unbelievable sad.

The entire incident allowed me to see an image of a life where my mother is no longer alive. 

Of course, I called my Mother and made her laugh about what happened.

Actually, I called her twice, trying to suppress an urge to cry while speaking with her. 

My tone was lightly concerned and humorous but my heart was heavy and almost panicked. As I write this, at school,  I still want to curl up and cry.