Night before launch.

Dear Fabulous Friends and Family,
I notice that time travel is real. On the trip Amanda and I took to Tokyo,  we discovered it by mistake. Missing our carefully planned hotel stay. A day too late.
Today I experienced a new phenomenon. This one isn't as easy to identify (like time travel) this one is about the power of people and perceptions. I say I'm traveling alone. This fact terrifies my mother. I tell the story that on this journey I purchased a plane ticket for one, a rental car for one, eye mask and neck pillow? I count one of each.
But this is a false claim. I travel with so many. All of you who are reading. You are with me. All of my co- workers covering my shifts, my students, my connections, strangers who don't know me but who donated warm winter cloths at the request. Stuffed into the nooks and crevices of my being. Like my suitcases, I am full. I'm surrounded by a cinnabun of people; I'm that warm gooey center we all go for first. I guess that's it. The warm feeling of community. That collective power of love. Although, I have much to do before I launch into the sky. I am thankful. I am humbled. I am not alone.