Road Dog Diaries. The Arrival

It’s 5:44 am in Iowa. I’m thinking back on the last couple of days, getting ready to leave PR. We had family in town so I was trying to drink in all the family time I could before the early morning 4am, 2.5 hr drive to San Juan to board my plane.

Finally Azrael is getting used to the ocean! Yayyy! I’m starting to understand that if there is a reef of rocks or coral on the shore she is happy as a clam and doesn’t mind the waves lapping the shore. I think it’s the unsteady feeling of the sand that freaks her out so we went to a beach with more rock and she was thrilled.

My nephew Lukas wanted to find treasures on the beach so we hunted for sea glass and found a couple of great pieces. This Coca Cola fragment and a white cold cream jar fragment as well. I got to hold hands on the beach with my King one more time before I left. Those memories get me through the tough times on the road.

At around 8am I boarded my flight to Iowa and was so happy I brought my noise canceling headphones 🎧 because there were a few unhappy babies on the flight that were extremely vocal about their frustrations from take off until touchdown. I remember having small babies, how hard it was just to go to the store with them. I never had the money to fly anywhere with them, but I can only imagine how that would have gone. I wonder what goes through their little heads as the cabin pressure fluctuates. Flying is such a wild experience as an adult, which is why the photo of the gin is important😂😬.

I finally arrived at the airport in Iowa after a quick layover in Chicaco and I was starving! Haley met me at the airport and we went immediately to eat at the hotel. Dinner was incredible, service was lovely and most importantly, I got to see my Haley again! We sat at dinner, drank a glass of wine and talked about our gardens, loves, family, work etc. we laughed so much my face hurt and we planned our next project.

I was able to sleep like the dead (normally sleep is not so restful for me) and of course woke up disoriented, not sure where I was. It always happens when I’m traveling. So to calm my nerves I made a hot bath for myself and am sitting in it right now as I write this. Nothing calms my nerves like a warm bath or dip in the ocean. Of course I would always take the ocean over the bath but my options here are limited to the Mississippi mud bath or a warm bath in my hotel room. I chose a warm bath in my room☺️. I grew up in that Mississippi mud though and it still runs through my veins. I could feel it settle in my arteries the moment the plane touched down.

I realized that I’ve been missing this place. I miss that big ole river. Perhaps for the first time ever. I’ve been so busy running from here, running from trauma, running from judgements, memories and disappointments, that I forgot the beauty of home. The familiar seems refreshing today. That deep knowing of the language, the community, the small town charm, knowing how things work. I’ve taken that for granted in my search to understand that big wide ocean and that sweet little island. I am experiencing curiosity about the Mississippi like I never have before. I’m coming home with a very different understanding of the Midwest after a year and a half travel break due to COVID travel restrictions. I was only traveling out of absolute necessity.

I’ve noticed that Haley and I are the only people wearing masks after we left the airport, though it was tough to get folks in Iowa to wear masks in the height of the pandemic so I guess that all makes sense.

It’s strange how In PR most folks still wear masks especially indoors and still many outdoors as well. Few folks there can afford to get sick plus accessible healthcare is a growing concern there, so they take extra precautions. It’s a mind fuck to say the least. To see that there in PR folks are so concerned about getting ill but here almost nobody is visibly concerned about it.

It speaks volumes about the healthcare systems, resources, community and privilege comparing both places.

I guess it is comparing apples to oranges though. I’m trying to not look with judgement but rather simply observe the differences.

While I’m doing my best not to look with judgment, it still feels unsettling that in certain parts of the world health care and finances are such a growing issue while in other parts of the world people can go about their daily lives with very little worry about these issues.

Anyhoo.... today is a layday for preparation. Today we unpack our suitcases, take a few meetings, exercise, rest and get ready for a nonstop work week in my hometown.

I’m excited to see my blood family. My dads health hasn’t been great and my momma needs some TLC too, plus my son Miles birthday is on the 13th.

As you can imagine I’m excited to see my road family as well, Mike and Robbie and the entire crew. We all need a big group hug. All we can do is love each other, be patient, be forgiving with each other and understand that some folks are sicker than others but we’re all healing from one heart sickness or another. We’re all just trying to get by. We’re all just humans being human.

Life will continue to go on and we will continue to encounter uncomfortable situations but we have eachother to lean on and that is the true treasure here.

As long as we don’t lose sight of that we will be just fine. I’m hoping that the boys mom, Rita comes out to visit. I haven’t hugged her since I was here last. It sure would be nice.💗