My ride to the airport arrived at my home in the early morning. It was both strangely familiar and surreal. As he rushed towards my bags, tossing them into the trunk, he informed me, “I was listening to the news, but I turned on the music just for you,” this made me laugh. Our banter picked up where it left off, and yes, old habits are hard to break.

My ex-husband and I were travelling to Montreal for our oldest son’s university graduation. Was it slightly weird sitting beside each other on the plane? Not really. A lot was going through my mind; a mimosa was in order. I was looking at a man I’d sat beside for years; seemingly, nothing had changed, yet so much had. Both of us reverting to our old ways; there’s a lot of history between us, we are comfortable, and for the first time, it felt perfectly fine. With a five-hour flight, our conversation focused on family, work and our son’s graduation, asking ourselves, “How did this happen so fast?”

We walk together but no longer hand in hand; it’s our new normal. We are a team, and I love that we can put our differences aside and hang together; we’re finally in a good place. Lol…for now.

We dressed up to attend our son’s convocation, stuffing last-minute supplies of tissues into my purse, just in case. Finally, our son walked across the stage and accepted his degree, closing this chapter of his life and beginning an exciting new one. The world is his oyster, and he’s ready to seize new opportunities. I’m curious to see where he finds his pearls.

Family time dominated, filled with funny stories, a few debates, and some thought-provoking conversations. Mostly, we celebrated our son and his girlfriend (who recently graduated), their accomplishments, and what the future holds.

A lot of fun celebrating…

My son and his girlfriend, high school sweethearts, have the world in their grasp. So much to look forward to; nothing is out of reach with a bit of hard work. Reminding them to follow their dreams and passions, the rest will fall into place. There is no race or finish line; remember to enjoy the journey.

It was a whirlwind 48 hours and another early morning flight, this time heading home. My ex-husband and I are both seemingly exhausted—maybe we’re getting too old for all this celebrating! But it was a great trip. We have more photos and new memories to reminisce about. Yes, we are still family, in a new version, and it works perfectly well.

LC

xo