Mom brought the letter into our makeshift school room up in the attic after everyone had left for their days.

Dad, off to his job in town where he ran a think tank tasked by the government to try to figure out weather manipulation to end our constant drought status. The boys, off to fifth grade, where they felt so big and important since I was obviously not ready to handle “real school” in their eyes.

On the surface our school room looked like anything you would see in a traditional classroom with bright posters on the walls in all the primary colors, children’s books cleverly displayed and educational toys on the shelves. I hadn’t played with toys since I was six. Mom had discreetly turned one corner of the attic into a hidden section where one would find the books I was currently interested in. Not exactly appropriate for a second grade classroom were books on physics and electricity, ancient history and a study of battles from around the world that really had captured my attention lately.

The letter from my relatives was written in a funny language I had never seen but somehow Mom could read! She told me they were so happy to hear from her, but that they didn’t write anything of importance in the letter in case it was intercepted.

That sounded a little dramatic to me, but I stayed silent.

The letter went on to say that we would need to get together very soon as there was much they needed to share. How quickly could we get there?

“Momma, where’s there?” I questioned envisioning a long car ride.

“A little island off the coast of Egypt.” Mom said flatly, like of course I should know that.

“Egypt? The country?” Now I was shocked, “ LIke in the movies? With the sand storms, and the Sphinxes?” I knew I couldn’t be hearing her correctly.
Mom looked over the letter a final time, then setting it down, she turned to me. She smiled a coy smile. “I guess I never mentioned that my family comes from Egypt?”
Turns out these weren’t distant relatives, but aunts and uncles, I even had grandparents! Mom explained that this is where she had grown up. She had not been on the island since she went off to school and hadn’t talked to any of them in all that time. My mind was a whirlwind of thoughts and questions. There was so much more to Mom than excellent peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

Internally I shouted, “Now that is how you keep a secret!” But out loud I said, “I thought you were from Seattle?”

Mom laughed, she has a great laugh. “That is what I wanted everyone to think, and I did go to school there. That is where I met your father and fell in love.” She cooed, obviously reliving some memory.

“Ewwww….just ewwwww… to all that mushy stuff!” I could still act eight. Mom just laughed.

There was so much to take in that I hadn't noticed that Mom was furiously typing an email. Apparently, my “long lost” relatives didn’t live in the stone ages after all. Why did we have to wait months for a letter if they had email?

I sat quietly while she finished the email. I watched her fingers fly over the keyboard. I figured Mom was just explaining to them that there was no way we could get to Egypt any time soon. Maybe a big family vacation over the summer would be possible.

“We leave on Sunday.” She said, “They’re sending the family jet.”

What a crazy week! After digesting that Mom’s family was filthy rich, I learned that even though Mom may not have ever shifted, she can still make miracles happen. I was proud that I kept a straight face as Mom made Dad think a “girls” trip was all his idea. All that time working on controlling my reactions paid off as I calmly watched him suggest that he take the boys camping and fishing for the weekend, since they had regular school on Monday, and we should leave Sunday and take a whole week somewhere fabulous.

He actually said, “What’s the point of homeschooling if you don’t go to the places you’ve been learning about?”

I knew at that moment just how good Mom was at this thought transfer business. I wonder how many times she had used it on my brothers and I, to eat our dinner, clean our rooms, or take a bath….I actually heard her voice telling me what to say next,

“We’ve been studying Egypt all year, can we go there?’ I said, the face of innocence.

Dad actually paled a little. The expense of an international trip was probably past the budget he was thinking of. Most likely we was thinking of a trip to the California Missions or maybe to the Grand Canyon.

“I loved studying all the Pyramids and ruins this year, can we go see them?” I added.

His next words even surprised him. “Well it’s a good idea that we got you kids passports a few years ago then wasn’t it?”

He looked around to see who had actually spoken those words. I don’t know who was more surprised, all of us just sat there looking at each other, the room silent.

“Wow, ok then, I’d better get packing then!” Mom jumped up. She wasted no time in getting out of there before he could come to his senses.

Before I could catch up with my own thoughts on this, we were headed to the airport, suitcases loaded. We veered away from the commercial flights and instead went to a gated area for private planes. It was cold out and I could see my breath as I stepped out of the car. The dress and long coat I wore did not protect my legs and I shivered in the cold. The “family jet” was enormous. Hopefully it would be warm.