Picture it. Praed Street, London. It’s late on a Friday evening. The sun has all but disappeared behind the tightly wedged buildings leading up to the flurry of activity that is Paddington Train Station. We had just come from a old hotel, off Hyde Park, that had been converted into a pub and this evening was bustling with after work drinkers and Christmas merry makers. By the time we approached Paddington, people were spilling out into the streets from various pubs and kabab shops and once again we felt a bit like spawning salmon. Added to the mix on this night was my Mom. She had flown in for a visit and we had taken her out for a pint, fish and chips.
Now, my Mom had arrived that morning and we stayed in London all day so she had luggage with her when we were walking from the pub to Paddington. Navigating Praed St.,on a Friday, at rush hour, around Paddington, during Christmas is difficult enough without pulling a suitcase. But my Mom trooped on and kept blazing a trail with us until…. Wait for it…
…I lost her. Thats right. I lost my Mom in London. Who does that? I did.
As it turns out, we turned left into the Station and Mom, not seeing us turn, kept going straight. To my Mom’s credit, she stayed true to the advice she had given me so many times when I was little and we were venturing to the big city of Saskatoon. (I see you Calgary, scoffing. I’ll tell you this, to a 10 yr old who grew up on the farm, Toon Town was a BIG deal, a real adventure and treat. In fact, when I did move to Saskatoon and people I met asked me where I was from, I’d say ‘The City’. ‘Um…, which city?’ they would reply. LOL! That’s how big a deal it was to me. I thought everyone knew that The City was Saskatoon.) I digress. She said, If you ever get lost stay put! And so she did.
In this day and age you are thinking, Big deal Eve, everyone has an phone and you can text each other no problem. There is some truth in that, my Mom did have a phone, as did I. But from the moment I realized I had lost her until I received a text from her felt like forever. I went running back the way we had come from. I was so sure that she was behind us I didn’t even know where I had lost her. (And the winner for Daughter of the Year goes to…). Ok, so after two blocks of searching I get a text from her.
This is what transpired.
Garfunkel paddongtgn underground
Where?
(she sends ‘current location’ link)
Garfunkel underground paddingtpn
Hyde Park. Prayed St
Aberdeen steak house across street
Ok, at this point she could be anywhere. I know where the Paddington Station entrances are, all three of them, which one is she at? I tapped on the link for ‘current location’ and it says she is standing at the Main entrance of Paddington Train Station. Stupid iPhone. I’m standing at the Main entrance and she is nowhere in site. What’s Garfunkel underground paddington? A pub? Is she inside somewhere and that’s why I can’t find her? I’m looking everywhere for a Garfunkel sign. The next text comes in. Hyde Park in no where near Praed. Where is she!? Aberdeen! Ok I know where that is. So I’m standing in front of the steakhouse, no Mom.
Right in front of paddingtpp underground
Station
Ok, now I’m really confused. I rush back down the street towards one of the entrances to the Paddington tube station. No mom. I rush to the entrance of the Paddington Train Station (again), no Mom. Back up the road to the other entrance to the Paddington Tube Station. No Mom. FML. Here is where I’ll kill the suspense because I know y’all on the edge of your seat. I found my Mom. Want to know why I couldn’t find my Mom? She is a blonde. No, not that kind. For as long as I can remember my Mom has been a brunette (or various incarnations of a brunette). When she arrived in London she was a blonde. So needless to say, my Mom had been standing three feet away from me three times and each time I failed to recognize her. Whoops! In the end, I realized that my Mom was texting me signs of places she could see from where she was standing. I thought that she was texting me places she ended up. A wild goose chase that ended as a funny story.
weRNtheBritzone 