Finally, a trip overseas

Many years ago a relative gave me some cash specifically earmarked for a trip to Germany. At the time I was a teenager and traveling abroad didn’t really trip my fancy. 
In my infinite wisdom, I found every reason in the book to not take advantage of it. College. Work. Marriage. Family. Not enough money. Kids. Time. Other interests. Just to name a few of the reasons I came up with.
I always thought to myself that there will be a day when I can get away to travel. Little did I know that traveling should be done in that period between high school, college and your first real job. 
And, to this day, I can kick myself for not cashing in on the opportunity back when it nearly smacked me in the face. As I grow older, I continue to realize how stupid I was for not jumping at the chance way back. There’s this thing called “life” that gets in the way and doesn’t always allow you to do what you want. 
It turned out to be a hard life lesson for me. Since then, I’ve learned to take advantage of opportunities when possible.
Which leads me to my latest life excursion this week. I will be traveling with my mother to Belgium to visit my oldest daughter, who has been studying there since January. Finally, I will be jumping across the ocean into foreign land. It just took me about 30 years to make that leap.
I can’t wait to be reunited with my daughter. Sure, we’ve exchanged emails and talked to each other over face time throughout the past few months, but it’s not the same. I’ve never been away from her for this long ever in her nearly 21 years of life.
This week’s trip is overshadowed just a tad bit by the recent bombings and civil unrest in Belgium. Last month a couple of crazed suicide maniacs blew themselves up and more than 30 innocent bystanders in the Brussels airport. My daughter worked near by, but, fortunately, she wasn’t directly impacted by the sad turn of events.
To say I am a little apprehensive about heading over to Belgium may be putting it lightly. I think some people expected me to cancel my trip and not go. But, as I pointed out in the beginning of this column, I’ve been waiting decades for such an opportunity. I’m not about to let a couple crazy people ruin