I'm On My Way!

Where in the World is D?

Los Angeles International Airport!

I set off on my journey this morning (January 30, 2009) fairly easily. Tim took me to KCI with me fighting tears periodically along the way. Fear is a funny/odd human emotion. Sometimes we can’t really explain or quantify what it is that we are afraid of. That was the case with me this morning. (I’m not even exactly sure it was fear, but I can’t attach any other definition to what I was feeling.)

But why fear? I have been wanting to take this trip for several months. Now is the time. Yet my heart is racing and my eyes are all blurry. I know how to teach. I know that when I land there will be someone there to greet me. I know that I am not in any immediate danger, as in being chased by a saber-toothed tiger. So why in the heck is my brain freaking out. This is going to be an exciting adventure. (By the way, although I’m still in the U.S., everyone around me is speaking something other than English. Let the immersion process begin!)

Maybe what the fear that I’m feeling is that of the unknown. Even when there is much I know, there is much I do not. Thoughts of rejection and failure lurk in the gray matter of my brain. Just sitting there whispering, “Dude do you really know what you’ve gotten yourself into?” The answer to that question is, “No I really don’t.” But that’s the cool part about this journey, the not knowing.

I’ve always been the straight down the middle, rule following, place it safe guy. This is nowhere close to anything I’ve ever attempted. Bully for me! I still want to throw up, but bully for me anyway.

Here’s what else I know. I know that I am Loved by many, supported by friends and family. I know that I am a role model not only to my kids, but to Duane, Dart, Cobrae, Keaton, and Cameron. I know that there are those who are going to live vicariously through me on this journey.

Life is full of transitions. Each time we figure out how to negotiate each one in the time and space in which we are living. I’m gonna be fine. It’s gonna be GREAT.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.