Flight

Grace fell in love with this dog.
He's just her size.

Thursday, March 14, I traveled alone.  I went through security at the airport.  I waited at the gate until it was my turn to board.  It was loud and quiet for me all at the same time.  I ordered a very large cup of coffee and sipped it while I read a book. I was uninterrupted for the first time in a very long time.  I started to clear my thoughts.  I was able to pull them all the way from point A to point B.

On the plane, the people that sat around me spoke Spanish and an Indian language, so while I heard them talking, I didn't know what they were saying.  It felt like white noise. I had a window seat for my 7:25 PM flight.  I felt like I was riding into the sunset for three hours before it got completely dark outside.

I loved flying above the clouds. It was a new perspective on how small we really are.  All the towns, small or large, looked relatively the same from the airplane window.  For a long time, I could pick out the ball fields, the neighborhoods, the ponds.  It was all very patchwork.  Different yet cohesive.  Separate yet connected somehow.

We had a lot of rough air.  It wasn't a smooth flight at all.  The captain came over the PA system several times apologizing for the flight attendants being unable to serve beverages and snacks to the passengers. Eventually, they served everyone, but it was a long flight.

I am absolutely crazy about my kids, and I love that they like to tell me what’s on their minds.  They talk to me all the time. All. the. time.  A part of me wanted to rush back and bring them all with me when I thought about all the things we could see and do in California.  Not that I could do that but talk about a hands-on experience.  Then, I thought to myself what a good experience they were having back home with their cousins.  What great memories they were making.

It’s not every day Deron has to travel for work, and now that the kids are a little older, we can let them visit with cousins while I accompany him for some time together alone. 

We went to Amelia Island last year for our tenth anniversary, and it was revitalizing.  We talked and walked and dreamed and planned and ate amazing food.  We just enjoyed being together, just the two of us.  It was something we hoped would become a tradition for us.  So when we found out he had to be in California for two weeks, we decided that I could meet him out there for the weekend. What a blessing it was!

We, originally, planned for me to go out to California with him for a few days and for me to go with him to his conference for five nights this summer.  I still want to go, but I'm starting to chicken out a little in terms of leaving the kids again.  Although, they've already asked when they can go back and stay with their cousins again because it was "awesome!" They told me they had a lot more fun than we did! So we'll see.