Well, I'm currently on my way to South Africa!! While I'm so excited about being there, I am not enjoying the traveling to get there. It all started yesterday when we drove from Michigan to Columbus Ohio. I have been feeling rather jittery lately mainly due to the fact that I'm not sleeping well at night, so you can imagine that 5 hours in a car were pretty tough for me.
After having dinner with my aunt and cousin and sister, we sat down to relax. Knowing that I had a day of traveling ahead of me, I was making a point of trying to chill a bit. My "chilling" got interrupted when my Aunt Mindi started complaining of chest pain. We promptly loaded her in the car and headed for the Emergency room. After 4 hours of tests, questions, and my very own sing-along, they sent my aunt home. No heart attack!! Praise the Lord, and she looked to be completely fine. They think she may have had a spasm in her esophagus.... The doctor told us it's rather common, and it can sometimes feel like a heart attack. I guess you really do learn something new everyday....
We got back to my cousin's and in bed around 1 AM. You know that feeling that you have something very big ahead of you, and you just can't get your body to relax? Yeah that was me last night. Luckily I was able to get some sleep. After a trip to the airport and a flight from Columbus to New York, I'm waiting to get on a plane that will take me to Amsterdam, then from Amsterdam I will fly to my second home!
I'm so excited to be in South Africa, but the traveling hasn't necessarily been fun or easy. But I'm on my way. I could totally go with a "we need to learn to enjoy the journey" angle with this, but I won't. That angle has been overdone. Instead let me encourage those who are experiencing the "unexpected" interruptions life sometimes (ok often) hands us. They come in all shapes and sizes, and we can't control them and we definitely cannot control them. But these are the things that help us grow and learn. So here are three things I want you to do next time you find yourself in the middle of an interruption:
1. Figure out what you can learn... I think we need to be open to learning new things, always. Whether it's how to improve, what to change, or even if it's one new random fact, try to be aware of your opportunity to learn within the situation.
2. Laugh.... I truly believe that laughter is the best medicine. This is my primary way of dealing with crazy stuff in my life. I find the joy in it. Find something funny to laugh at, life can't be so serious all the time, we don't actually live in a soap opera...
3. Chill!!... Get some rest. Take care of your body regardless of what is going on. Once it's all said and done take time to relax, and get plenty of sleep. I've learned the value of a good nights sleep over the last year and let me tell you the last week and a half, I've been missing it so much!! If your interruption lasts more than a day, make sure you are taking time to sleep. Don't try to get rid of it, or fix it all by going for days without sleep that just leads to sickness, and grumpiness...
Enjoy life regardless of what part of your current "journey" you're on... As for me, I will sit in this airport and try my hardest to stay awake....
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