Separation Anxiety

This is the first time I've taken a trip requiring four flights and no passport. The plane I flew from Eureka, (actually McKinleyvile) CA, to San Francisco had propellers.

PROPELLERS.

As I type this, I'm sitting in Charlotte, NC. The final leg of my trip is a couple of hours away so I have some time to read and write.

I can't believe how much I miss the charming and beautiful Susan and princess Ali. For the past several months, I haven't spent more than two of my waking hours without Ali in my arms or being in serious conversation with my wife. While I'm away, all of my waking moments are filled with thoughts of what Ali has gone through. While I'm with her, I don't really think about it. I just hold her and love her and take care of her. It's when I'm separated from Ali that I feel the weight of her experiences. It's crazy how this one little person has changed the course of my life.

I'm excited to spend a few days at my home in Stuart, FL. But I'm also sad that I'm packing it up, taking what we absolutely need (things like my motorcycle and our bed and my Wired magazines). Everything else, including the house and one of our cars, we're leaving my son Aaron (Aaron and one of his buddies is paying us rent - we could use one more tenant). Aaron will help pack up a U-haul this weekend and we'll drive it across country to our new place in Eureka. This will be the second cross-country trip Aaron and I will take in the past ninety days. The charming and beautiful Susan left Florida in May with her carry-on baggage the first week of May not knowing that she was actually moving to California. It's crazy how one little person can change the course of your life.

My schedule for the next few days is nuts. Today, I will land in West Palm Beach and drive to Ft. Pierce where the U-haul truck I reserved online patiently waits for me. I'll start packing it up today. Tonight, I'll meet my close friend and his family for dinner (sushi from the Bangkok Bay restaurant in Stuart, Lord willing), then back home to Stuart. Tomorrow, I'll continue packing up the truck, and then enjoy bar-b-que and a movie at my good buddy Chris'. Sunday morning, I'll speak at my home church. I can't wait to see my friends at Calvary Chapel Jupiter. Support from them has come in every way: physically; emotionally; spiritually. I can't even begin to fathom where I'd be without this awesome church family. Sunday afternoon, I'll have lunch with friends. Sunday night, there will be a little send off shin-dig I'll be attending. I better have that truck all packed up by then because Aaron and I will be heading out before the sun comes up Monday morning. I'm sort of thankful for the busy-ness of the weekend because leaving fills me with bitter sadness.

On a different note: while traveling, I'm reading a really cool by Nathaniel Philbrick called Mayflower. I love books about American history and this one, so far, is great. I feel like Philbrick treats the Pilgrim's focus on God very well. He really brings out how central Christian faith was to the founding of this country. This book is not distributed by Christian book sellers, but, in my opinion, should be.

One reason I'm so interested in this particular book is that before my maternal grandfather died, he traced our families roots back to England and it turns out that I'm a direct descendant of William Brewster, one of the Pilgrim's spiritual leaders. I looked up Brewster on Wikipedia, and found that I share that honor with an interesting list of people.

I should organize a family reunion.