Road dogs are home

And we are beat…

Since y’all like to hear the travel stories I’ll let you know how the last few days has gone. We were all set to fly out of Chicago on the 22nd, got to the airport, flawless process of checking in and going through TSA, everything was perfect. But that was the calm before the storm of course because flying sucks now. Our flight was leaving on time and everything looked great! So exciting! Couldn’t wait to get home, lay in my own bed and smell my own house. I know it sounds weird but I love the way my own house smells, it’s comforting. As we prepare to take off, The pilot comes on and tells us that we are waiting for one family, so we waited, and waited, and then we waited some more… After a half an hour of waiting, and the pilot tells us that we have missed our window to takeoff so we would have to wait because of weather anyhow now. As the family enters the plane, very exhausted looking mother, very irritated looking father, a couple of kids in tow, the pilot comes back on the loudspeaker and says that we now have to wait about 2 1/2 hours for another window to fly. Something about weather, blah blah blah, you know the rigmarole.

So we literally wait on the tarmac for another 2 1/2 hours until the pilot once again comes on the intercom and tells us that we will be returning to the gate because the weather is too bad and we simply cannot takeoff. At this point our luggage is already on the plane, we go to baggage claim try to retrieve our luggage, it’s a irretrievable. So we go to a hotel, order some delicious Italian food, stretch our bodies out and get some rest. At 3 AM we wake up, brush our teeth get our clothes on and go back to the airport for our morning flight.

As we walk into the airport I can feel my back starting to go out. It was a pretty painful day of travel with my back but fortunately we were able to arrive on island yesterday in San Juan, three hours away from our home on the other side of the island. Thank God we have friends! Our friend angie came and picked us up and drove us across the island back home. We were able to be home at around sunset, hugged and kissed the animals, got some good cuddle time in, then made dinner. Our friends Mark and Tiffany had some chicken and two pieces of cake waiting for us they had loaded a bowl into my bong, it was such a wonderful return home! I cooked up some pasta, added the chicken ate a piece of cake and passed the fuck out. It was a beautiful thing to be able to sleep in my bed through the entire night, it does not happen enough. There’s something so precious about being home, in the space you love with the people you love and the animals you love. I’m extremely thankful today to have this time at home. Every time I leave, I come back and feel a little disheveled. I never know where anything is, I have to relearn my house, it can be a lot emotionally. But the upside is that I get to travel this beautiful country and meet new people, learning and exploring and adventuring with the people I love. I guess it’s just the give and take.

As with any career there are a lot of sacrifices that come with success. Success is such an interesting word isn’t it? What is success? Does it mean money? Things? Opportunities? Love? Family? Happiness? What does it even mean? Today I think it’s a success that we were able to arrive home, I was able to do my job effectively and have fun while I was doing it, I was able to make the money that I need to make in order to make it worthwhile, I was able to come home to a loving environment and sleep with a good conscience in clean sheets and feel at peace regardless of the never ending, frustrating tales of travel involved with my work. There’s always gonna be something about our lives or our jobs or our loved ones that is frustrating and messy and never ending. But it’s those moments in between the frustration, are those good moments? Do I feel happiness and pride in what I’m doing? Is the trade-off worthwhile? So I suppose for this trip that’s what success means to me. The trade off was definitely worth the frustration amd now I’m safe at home, able to rest for the day.

What does success mean to you? What makes you feel successful? What do you strive to be successful at?