The Air Up There

First, thanks to everyone that comments on my posts. It makes me feel good to be heard and I definitely read all your comments.

So, Tara and I have been watching a ton of movies at the theater recently. We understand that once little Olivia arrives, we won't have much time to go see movies at the theater. Plus, we both really love the pizza at Alamo and a movie is as good an excuse as any to eat pizza and have a beer (just me!).

Last weekend, we watched 'Up In the Air', the movie with George Clooney as a guy that's a frequent flier mile junkie. Last week, I was in Ottawa for work for a few days. On the way up there, I flew through Chicago. I didn't think Tara would want to watch that movie, so in the bookshop I ended up buying the book. It was also the cheapest book they had in paperback that I would actually want to read (no sappy romance novel), but it brings up another point: why do airport book stores carry so many hardback books? They're heavy and bulky, neither of which is good for a traveler.

So on the flight from Chicago to Ottawa I started reading the book, with no expectation of seeing the movie. I got probably 30% of the way through the book in the terminal and on the plane (which sat on the runway for 90 minutes waiting to de-ice).

On the way back to Chicago a few days later, I again was sitting on a delayed flight (cancelled in the end). I can't tell you how frustrating it is to read a book about delayed flights and frequent flier miles when your flight is delayed by 5 hours. As I'm missing one of Tara's doctor's appointments because of flight delays and cancellations, I start to feel extremely guilty. Here's why:

I love traveling. For work, for pleasure, for no good reason at all. There are so many things I love about traveling: the thrill of getting upgraded to first class, the tiny plastic and Styrofoam cups of Diet Coke and coffee (black of course), the possibility of sitting next to someone that could possibly help me in the future, the possibility of sitting next to someone that I might be able to help.

There are certainly things I dislike about traveling: late flights, cancellations, hurrying up and waiting. Most of these things wouldn't be a big deal if Tara could always travel with me. Once Ms. Olivia is born, they'll both get to tag along to some pretty cool places (The Netherlands, China, and Europe are already on tap) though they'll probably skip on China.

The thing about traveling that I probably like the most is simply the unknown. The unknown of who I'll be sitting next to and talking with. The unknown of what the first class meal will be. The mystery of which light beer (generally Miller Lite coming from the East Coast, Bud Light leaving Dallas, and returning from the West Coast) they'll have on board.

This is the point in my post (if you've read them all, you know what I'm talking about) that I take my negative trait (love of traveling) and spin it to make me look awesome (I'm getting pretty good at this). Some people fear change. Some people fear the unknown. I on the other hand love change. I love the unknown. It keeps life interesting. It's a good thing because our lives are about to change dramatically. Our daughter is going to transform our lives into something even more amazing. Change will be swift. Change will be dramatic. I will thrive because of it.

Not only does having a child invoke change, it creates the unknown. How much will Olivia weigh? How long will she be? Will she have hair? When will she sleep through the night? When will she be potty trained? Where will she go to college(damn well better be Texas)? What will she choose to do with her life? From here on out, we'll have to be willing and able to live in the unknown. Not only do I know that can thrive amongst the unknown, but I'll love every minute of it.

I'm sure of all heard the old adage, "change is good". I think it really should be "change is necessary". Change is natural.

For us, change is just around the corner.