Friday, May 20, 2011

Butterflies

Butterflies have been spreading their little wings in my stomach the last few days. This always happens to me before I am about to embark on a new adventure. I worry I will forget something vital, like my head, and  tend to have a little bit of OCD in the few days leading up to a trip. No surprise that these little winged creatures are creating quite a storm in my belly. It's now less then 3 hours before the limo will pick me up to head to the airport (yes, I decided to treat myself this time. I earn my own money so I am entitled to spend it how I see fit, I thought!). Less then 6 hours before the plane will take off and less then 12 before my feet touch Irish soil. Hopefully the rest of me, including my spacey head, will arrive at the same time as well.

Side note: I wrote this post earlier this morning, but forgot to hit save on my iPad and lost the whole page. It was one of those really good ones too. I really felt "in the zone" and now I am very miffed that I lost it as it will likely not be half as good.

Along with the butterflies, I usually do not sleep much or well in the days just before travelling. The anticipation and excitement always gets the best of me. Once on the plane, I tend to finally exhale and relax, but as it would be sleep is not my priority. I enjoy flying and always have to many things to distract me from catching some Z's. A great book, conversations with my seat mate, watching the other travellers, catching up on movies via the in flight movie selection, writing, thinking.....  I try to force myself to get at least a couple of hours, but that is usually neither quality sleep nor refreshing. As we land, I hit the ground running to get through the process of passport checking, luggage collecting and finding my way to whatever means of transportation will take me to the hotel or place of destination. I make myself stay up until the local bedtime and coffee, tea and the surge of adrenaline I typically experience are my tools of survival and get me through the day.

The next day, I wake up feeling more settled. The day is a blank canvas and I have been given a pallet of amazing colors to use however I wish. And, wherever I am, I set out with anticipation of what is to come. All the little mini-adventures that are just waiting for me to discover them kick up my little winged friends again. I really don't mind them as they have a way of keeping me ready for opportunities and content to color my canvas with the most beautiful of hues and shades.

Once back home, comfortably in my warm bed and reminiscing about all the fun I had, the storm finally subsides and the butterflies slow their wings down to a still and a rest until the next adventure.and while my stomach is back to to normal,  in my head plans for my next trip already whirl around.  I know that soon enough, he butterflies will be busy spreading their wings again!

1 comment:

  1. When i talked about resonance in my first post, i couldn’t have anticipated how heavily i would resonate. Your style of writing is so much like my own. (I hope that’s a good thing...) And your thoughts too. Every word you write reminds me of similar thoughts and sentiments in my own self. And you know what? That’s exactly what good writers do: they manage to elicit this “yes i know what you’re talking about” feeling in their readers. Way to go, dear!

    ReplyDelete