Nothing is as simple as we hope it will be. - Jim Horning

I have become a shuttle driver. Ever since getting my license from learning how to drive on a fantastic, 15 passenger white Ford van, I’ve vowed never to drive anything that beastly. (However, I am now the proud owner of a Land Rover Discovery that seats 7 at most – so I aspired slightly lower. No offense Mom and Dad… the van will always hold a special place in my heart.) And yet, Grover the Gas-Guzzling Rover is now the college version of the good old van. Grover took me to the airport a LOT lately. Including twice in one day.

And from my vantage point as a shuttle driver, I realized I find out a lot about myself when I turn off the radio and start listening to my thoughts. Maybe you’ll even solve a couple problems that have been plaguing you. Or not. But you still get a lot further than you were before.

Airports are a completely different world. Remember how in chemistry you had to learn the difference between homogenous and heterogenous? (…. For all you NONchem lovers: basically a mixture of things you can’t separate because they look the same and a mixture of things you can separate because they look different, respectfully…) Airports are neither. People come together and weave in and out of each other’s lives and then at the end of the flight, the threads are pulled apart again. So what has been created? A tangled web is shaped when we fly on wing through the air. And yet somehow when that web is pulled tight it creates a wonderful tapestry. Think of all the people you’ve ever sat next to and had a meaningless/meaningful conversation with. There are so, so many people that have left an impression on me. Like this one old lady who had four complete hours to fill with her life story. And fill it she did.

I know Christian definitely has me topped on the number of times he's flown, but I've definitely topped him on the number of times you get stuck. (right, David? I'm pretty sure I told you about it every time it happened.) I think something crazy happened to me every time I tried to fly by myself. I used to think I was just cursed. Now I realize that I had a lesson to learn every time I got stuck. Sometimes it takes drama and frustration and confusion for you to grow a little more and to realize that you are far, far more capable than you thought you were.

I think the worst part about airports is the goodbyes. You pull up to a curb, they get out, you hug, they walk off and you get to stand there and watch them walk farther and farther away from you. And then you have the drive home to think about how much you'll miss someone. Two years, two weeks, two days - I still miss you all the same. But today was harder. Usually I'm the one that gets dropped off at the curb. Usually I'm the one who gets distracted by security lines and waiting areas. But not today. I watched my family get in a car and drive away from me. I fool myself sometimes into thinking that saying goodbye will get easier as I get older. And I realize how wrong I am everytime. And now all I want to do is go to an airport. And be the one that gets on the plane and flies back home.