of airplanes and childhood (true that - double true.)

I realized something today.

I am really excited about this trip. Yes, of course I mean the entire move - but more specifically I am starting to get jazzed for the plane trip there.

Maybe I just haven’t flown much recently, so I forget what a drag it is. But I think it’s great.

I think flying is pretty much the only thing that takes me back to being 3 years old. I mean, think about it. When you’re three, and you get into a car, I think there is an expectation that you are going to get out of your little car seat and be somewhere completely different - grocery store, park, friend’s house, whatever. And the best part about it is you have no clue how you got there. You get in your seat, Mom gets in the front seat, and a little while later, you arrive.

I think a 3 year-old sees Mommy “drive the car” but there isn’t a real appreciation for exactly how much work goes into that, managing speed and directions, and dealing with the unexpected - whether that’s traffic, construction, or a stressed-out businessman driving angry (was that Dad that just cut us off?). =)

And that is exactly how I see the airplane. I get in, buckle my stupid 1962-style seat belt (since that helps when plummetting from 25,000 feet), look out the window and when I get off the plane, I’m in Reno or Chicago or London or wherever. I have no idea how I got there. I do know that someone in an overstarched uniform (not unlike CAP’N CRUNCH’s by the way) hops into the front seat, pulls on some levers, and gives me periodic updates that make no sense to me (something about turbulence and avoiding Milwaukee).

I know that Captain Lundquist (I think that sounds like a pilot's name, don't you?) “flies the plane”, but I have no appreciation for how that happens. For all I know, he’s checking Google Maps halfway through to make sure he’s still going the right way.I’m clueless and it’s a wonderful way to travel.

I realized something today. I am really excited about this trip.