View from the top...

…is all clouds right now.

Reader’s Digest Version: In bed by 1 am on New Years Eve, up by 5 am New Years Day. By 6:20 am I joined Carolan, my soon-to-be roommate and her family at the airport. By 7 I had dropped off my luggage and headed toward the security check. With a tearful good-bye I hugged my parents, took pictures, told them I loved them and waved good-bye as I proceeded beyond security and headed to my gate.

Extended Version: This is what really happened.
When I first opened my eyes it hit me, this is the last time I get to sleep in my own bed for 5 months. I clamped my eyes shut and buried my face into the familiar comfort of the pillows and blankets that I’m leaving behind. I then admitted to myself that my alarm was in fact going off and that I would have to get up and turn it off. I crawled back into my bed after turning it off praying that the day wasn’t quite here.
But it is, and so I got up and went over to the outfit that I had prepared for today and began to get ready. Once I was dressed and ready, I went into Tierney’s room. I jumped into her bed and gave her a hug. She wrapped her arm around me and said, “Just sleep here.” I started to cry and told her that I couldn’t because I had to leave in a few minutes. “DO me a favor and be good while I’m gone, I don’t want to have to worry about you,” I said as the tears that I tried to hold back continued to pour down my face. She looked over at me stretching with the half-awake half-asleep eyes and groaned, “I’m a good kid.” “I know.” We said our I love yous and I’ll miss yous and I walked out of her room stopping at the door to give her a peace sign.
I turned toward Troy’s room, gave myself a second to wipe the tears from my face. This one is either going ot be really easy, or the hardest good-bye. I walked in and sat down on his bed. I gave him a hug and he sat up and returned to favor. We said our I love yous, and he said to me, “Will you have some wine?” I looked at him, thinking that Ireland was not exactly known for its wine, and said, “In Ireland?” He laughed, “No! On the plane.” All I could do was laugh. “I’ll see what I can do.” He probably doesn’t even remember it, I doubt he was really awake, but that was the best good-bye I could have asked for from him. It was so perfectly Troy.
Fast Forward, I’m on the plane now, headed toward London’s Heathrow airport. It’s about a 6 and a half hour trip. There is a baby crying. How cliché. Someone is rustling their newspaper quite loudly. I’m watching the latest Harry Potter and trying to move my legs a bit, my ankles hurt. There is an older gentleman in the opposite aisle walking in a little circle beside his seat while listening to head phones. For about 10 minutes I suspected that he was waiting to use the toilet. Now I realize that he’s probably just trying to keep his legs moving.
Carolan is beside me writing in her journal. My hips are really bothering me, no matter which way I move they end up with shooting pain. We are currently over the Atlantic Ocean, about half way to our destination. The outside temperature is -52 C. Sounds lovely. There’s been a fair amount of turbulence on the flight, but the sky is blue and the clouds below us are heavenly white.
I’m crossing an ocean right now. It is so surreal. The trip of a lifetime. A trip many people just dream about, and here I am. 20 years old and embarking on a journey that I cannot even begin to imagine. Amazing.
Thanks Mom and Dad. I love you.
PS Mom – You should really try that paraffin wax spa thing you got me. It’s in the rec room. The directions are there. It’s really cool.