Already Jet Lagged

The most dreaded part is over. I dropped Andy off at the airport on Tuesday morning. I was not as inconsolable as I was hoping I wouldn’t be. But it was ridiculously difficult to break the hug and walk away. I couldn’t look back, fearing that if I did I would break down beyond the tears I’d already shed. I was able to make it to the bathroom and lock myself away in a stall before doing that. I stayed in the confined space long enough to pull myself together and walk back to where Andy was just about to go through security. I drew as near as I dared to a TSA official, who looked up warily when I called Andy’s name from his side. All I could do under such an ominous gaze was wave, but it helped a great deal.

Despite all of the preparations I needed to undertake for my own departure, I’ve felt empty this week. Empty and a little lonely. Luckily, my friends have helped to alleviate, or at least suspend, my longing for Andy. Phone calls and face-to-face chats over pints and coffee have kept me in fairly high spirits. So have a few strangers in the medical profession, who gave me reduced-price dental exams and free contact solution when they learnt of my upcoming travel. It makes the transition a lot easier knowing that I have so much support from…well, everyone.

What did NOT make leaving easier was my mom’s decision to buy a new puppy two days before I left. I needed to go to a particular mall in order to visit an eyewear store that could complete a new pair of glasses on time. Mom decided to come along and suggested we go to the pet store after I’d finished picking out my new frames. We always go to the pet store, but we usually don’t come home with a dog. The fact that we did this time was due to a combination of circumstances. He’s a Shih-Tzu, the same breed as the two dogs we already have. He has the colouring my mom likes. He was half-price. And, probably most importantly, Noelle moved to Dinkytown and I’m moving to Australia. The dog is our replacement. And he’s a pretty cute replacement.

I haven’t had time to form a strong attachment to Yet-to-be-Named, so his presence did not outweigh my excitement to get out of here. Andy’s been doing quite well in France, and I can’t wait to go and begin my own adventures. They’ll made being away from him easier, and, of course, they’ll be incredible in their own right. They’d better be, as I’m writing this in the San Francisco airport. I left Minneapolis at 2.55pm, landed in Chicago at 4 something, left from there at 6.45 and arrived at San Francisco at 11pm Central/9pm Pacific. I’m sick of airports. I’m exhausted. And I still have a 13-hour flight ahead of me. For all this, Sydney better be pretty bloody amazing.