(Written in March, from Ontaria, CA to Oakland, CA)
Brian and Julie drove me to the airport and there was heavy traffic on the way here. I have never checked in so fast (there was no line) and got on a plane ever in my life! 20 minutes flat.
As we pull away from our gate I began to cry. The tears start to well up in my eye sockets and I try to hold them back. Then I look around and nobody is around me to ask why I am crying so I just let it out. My next question, as is always the case when I sporadically cry like this, is why the heck am I crying? We’re on the runway, my favorite part of any flight. As I look out the window I realize that I am leaving my hometown and will be returning as someone different. Not altogether different. A different name and title. It takes big events such as weddings to make you feel that you have grown up and are now an adult. But I am not really an adult. A whole new adventure in my life is about to begin. I have done so much in the past years that make me happy to be independent. I have made decisions regarding my life for about six years but now I am cutting any dependence I have on my parents by marrying a man, the man. How old fashioned is this? They will always carry the dependence of a phone call for advice or to talk. It is a weird feeling. I am excited, nervous, all feelings that you feel before you start a new adventure, travel to another country, or take a step in a direction you aren’t sure about but need more than anything to do. No wonder weddings are such sob fests.
I am lucky to be able to start this part of my life with this guy who is my friend and with whom I trust the world. Many new steps will be made and feelings I have never felt before. The flight, with its dips, take offs and landings, is so fun. I am so excited and can’t wait to see what is up there.