HYSTERIA...well almost!

This is mi madre (my mom) Cindy for all those who have never met her, here she is:)I couldn't find a picture of her with out sun glasses on, this is one of the most recent picture I took during the summer. I'm sure I have other pictures in my blog somewhere if you really want to see her with out sun glasses.


Last week my mom called me one last time before she departed on her flight booked with Air New Zealand heading to American Samoa for a 5 day vacation (why Samoa you might ask when she is of Tongan decent? She claims that Samoa is much more beautiful than Tonga and Samoa is a bit more modernized than Tonga). Since I've moved to West Virgina, I talk to mom once sometimes twice a day. So you might understand why this week seemed like the longest week of my life, we swap recipes and talk about the latest contestants on the Biggest Loser sometimes mom calls just to tell me what she's eating (it's usually fish which we crave since moving here, we no longer get coolers of fresh fish shipped from San Fransisco).

When I asked my mom to leave me a number to reach her she said she'd be too busy having fun and seeing the sights. She said five days is not too long and not to worry. I called her Thursday and left a message, I was anxious to see how her trip was(and of course what she brought back for me:). She was scheduled to return home on Tuesday. I still hadn't heard from her by lunch time on Tuesday so I decided to call her again, I had no luck so I left her another message. In the evening, while returning home from the gym I heard via radio that Samoa was being evacuated due to an earthquake.

I quickly called my brother who advised me to calm down and that mom should be OK. Less than an hour later my brother called to inform me of a Tsunami and the 37 and counting deaths. We were both freaking out so we continued to try contacting mom with no luck. By 10pm my brother decided to contact the Red Cross and I decided to call the Air port (the news reported that many had gone to the air port seeking emergency shelter). Before I called the airport, I called mom one last time and to my surprise she picked up. It sounded as if she had been sleeping, I was so relieved to hear her voice I nearly cried. She informed me that they had barley missed the earthquake, their flight arrived at 2pm. Mom said many of the sights that she had visited are completely destroyed. We're so relieved that you are o.k mom and we are still praying for the families who continue to be affected by the adverse weather conditions especially our family in Tonga.