She came back different
There’s a “One Morning, She Woke Up Different” meme that’s made the rounds a million times.
As I prepare for a full day of flying, I realize it’s not that I woke up different one day.
It’s that I wake up different every day.
And eventually, all those new days build upon the last.
It’s especially evident when I return from each trip that I’m different.
A lot different.
I hardly travel to seek perspective. I got enough perspective right where I’m planted, thanks. A front-row seat to how people elevate themselves and others at every expense.
If anything, the further away I am, the clearer and cleaner the air is. And when I return, I bring some of that mountain air with me.
Today, as I sit in the tiny airport that’s about to become even more familiar, I realize I have finally gotten the life I wanted.
It is mine. Literally mine. All mine.
I thought of someone who would love this adventure. I wondered what the adventure would be like, if this were the life he chose too.
But then I think about my friend I just went to visit. How we all thought my guy was the better man. How hers ended up being the most stand-up one out of them all.
And I realize, the life I chose is choosing me back. And there’s only one ticket to ride.
Maybe it’s not that I woke up different today. Maybe it’s just that I woke up and remembered who I am and where I was going in the first place.
