my visit to alaska is coming to a close and i fly to el paso (i haven't been home for over a year) on the 25th of january. i dread the long overnight flight because i am exhausted when the plane departs at 1 am. the race in phoenix to catch my el paso connection is nerve-wracking...it's 8 am and i usually have minutes to sprint across the airport to the correct gate. by the time i arrive in el paso, at 11 am, i look and feel like death warmed over.
i hate goodbyes. i always have. now that i have a new appreciation of the frailty of life, goodbyes are so much more gut-wrenching. i'm not sure this new-found appreciation is age driven or disease-related but i feel like i am always on the verge of tears when departing from family or friends. i know what monsters are out there....the cancers, the diseases, the tragic accidents.....so i am wary. goodbyes are not supposed to be final but they sometimes are.
that said, i also love adventure. after the teary goodbyes, the plane takes off and a brand new chapter of my life begins and how exhilarating is that? change is always scary and sad (again, is this age driven or disease-related?) but it is also refreshingly exciting. i am losing my balance. i am not losing my 'joie de vivre.' so i will fight back tears as i hug my daughter and her family goodbye. and i will board the plane and begin another journey.....smiling.
No comments:
Post a Comment