Airports

I love airports. I have loved airports for as long as I can remember. Flying is in my blood, especially if you know my father. I can’t even remember my first flight because I’ve been flying since I was a teeny tiny person. I was lucky growing up that my parents took my brother and I around the United States. We went on vacations and traveled to see family that lived in other states. I believe that’s where I got my travel bug. Although sometimes our travels give my mom a heart attack, I blame her for this obsession and my dad, who has been all over the world. They have always encouraged me to see, do, and explore. They are pretty awesome that way.

My family has lived pretty far away from other family members for most of my life and since I left home I’ve lived quite the distance from whatever coast my family was living on at the time. So, airports became a natural part of my yearly routine. At least twice a year or more I found myself waiting in line to board, ticket in hand, excited to get to whatever destination I was going to. And it’s never gotten old, it’s still exciting…even to this day.

My favorite place in an airport is the international terminal. Watching the different people come and go, seeing all the exotic places they are traveling to. I’ve done my fair share of traveling, but I never cease to get jealous of a flight headed to Brazil, South Africa, Vietnam, or any of the number of places I haven’t been. The thing about being obsessed with travel is that you never get your fill.

I am currently waiting for a flight that will take Derek and I to Chile. Yes, 6 weeks before our big move we are taking a previously planned 2 and 1/2 week holiday to South America, a continent that we are visiting for the first time. We will be traveling from Patagonia in the south to Santiago in the middle and exploring everything we can in between. Yet another decision that seems a little odd. With a life changing move just weeks ahead of us, we duck out for a couple of those to take a vacation. This seems about right for us. Traveling has always been a priority in our marriage. It’s one of many things that I love about Derek, it’s an interest and a goal in life that we share.

One of the other things I love about my husband is his ability to stay calm in chaotic situations, this is a trait I don’t have as much as I’d like to. We were supposed to already be in Santiago this morning, but due to a massive storm in Lubbock we won’t be leaving until this evening. This has clearly thrown off other arrangements that we had for today and tomorrow. But Derek always reminds me to be flexible and to remember that no matter what we will be in Chile eventually and it will be great. We don’t understand why this has happened (for the second time, we had an eerily familiar experience on our trip to Greece two years ago), but we trust that God has a plan and He will put us where we need to be. I’m just praying that place is the start line of the half marathon I signed up for in Patagonia on Saturday. No matter what happens it will be an adventure, even if it’s not exactly how we thought it would go. And in the grand scheme of things this is little and we know things could be much worse, we are lucky we get to go to Chile at all. We’ve learned to trust and have faith a lot over the last few months and this experience is no different.

So, before we go west, we will head south (hopefully), and do what we do best…have an adventure. Those of you that know me well know that there will be plenty of pictures to see and I will post what I can while we are there. Most of them will be on Instagram initially, so if you don’t already follow me you can find me @asweheadwest.

Adios America!

Jaclyn