I have the coolest Mom on the planet

I'm sure everyone says this...well, I'm sure every girl that gets along with her mom says this, but in my case it's totally true.  My parents have always been really supportive of everything I've done and my mom has always been with me every step of the way.  I remember her getting directions to Pittsburgh for my first visit up to Pitt.  She drove with me all the way from Virginia to Ohio, when I moved to Cincinnati for my first job out of college.  And of course, there have been countless visits to Chicago, although I think those may have partially for a chance at an Oprah siting.  So when I moved to Australia for six months of course, I hoped that she would be able to come out to visit, but given the cost and the distance and such a relatively short period of time to come, I wasn't sure if she would make.  As always, Mama P didn't disappoint.

Not only is my mom the coolest, but she has some of the coolest girlfriends ever.  One of her friends that I think I've known all of my life is a flight attendant, and was able to get my mom a buddy pass from Newport News, Virginia to Sydney, Australia.  Now that's a friend!  The caveat with buddy passes is that you have to fly standby.  We didn't think there would be any issue with that, as mom was flying in the middle of the week.  What we didn't count on was the Oprah effect (man, she's come up twice already in the post... damn, that Oprah).  She had just done her shows in Australia and clearly it hit home back stateside, because everyone and there brother was on there way to Sydney.  Mom ended up getting stuck in LA for an extra 4 or 5 days, but eventually she made it.

The eagle has landed, the eggs are in the basket!!!  Mama P is Sydneyside!!!  Now, anyone that's seen me and mom my together knows that we're besties, but it was extra special to have her in Sydney as I was nearing the end of my assignment, was totally homesick, and basically just ready to get the heck out of there.  Having a little piece of home was exactly what I needed to get through my last three weeks on assignment.

So I've got Mom in tow for our Aussie adventure.  And an adventure it was.  One of the funniest memories of having here there was picking her up at the airport.  I pick her up, we walk to the car, load her bags in the 'boot', then I go to return the cart that her bags were on.  I walk back to my car and my mom is seating in the drivers seat... which is the passenger seat in the US.
Me: "Uuhh... you driving home?!"
Mom: "Huh?"
Me: "You're in the driver's seat.  You didn't notice the steering wheel?!"
Mom: "Oh!!!  Whoops!"

I had to work during the day obviously while my mom was in town, but she made quite the adventures for herself while I was gone all day.  Every day I came home it was a new story of a new friend she made at the Chinese Friendship Garden, or the QVB building, or the Opera House.  By the time my mom left back for the states she knew all of the door men by name (and their full life stories), she was besties with the coffee shop guy in my building (they exchanged email addresses), and pretty much knew Sydney like the back of her hand.

We had a great time together - the zoo, the free bus (mom LOVES anything that's free), the Australia museum, the Chinese New Year parade, our favorite croissant and the french bakery in The Rocks...

It was just what the doctor ordered.

Thanks again, Mom for being so awesome.