Planning, Preparing, and Packing…certainly the tasks at hand in organizing the big trip to Ohio. Saturday, November 26 is the noteworthy day and has been etched in my mind as my son has counted down on the calendar. He simply cannot wait to see his best friend Maddy and ‘his other family’ as he affectionately has christened them. Who can fault him for that; I too am wound up with anticipation.
I will be reuniting with family, visiting dear friends and childhood classmates, reconnecting with past students and former colleagues as well as meeting individuals I’ve only acquainted myself with on the computer-and now deem as friends. Countless people I’ve not connected face to face in years; truth be told decades.
In addition, I get to embark upon the pursuit of a dream when I hold book signings in two areas I hold near and dear to my heart; Columbus and Tiffin. How can I view the happenings and not be exhilarated? My eagerness and excitement is beyond words…
However I wouldn’t be honest if I didn’t voice my apprehensions of the journey...how can old messages not replay themselves when placing me into aged haunts? What if they don’t like me? What if I’m a disappointment when they meet or see me again? What if I slight someone unmistakably? What if?
In a matter of days, my separated worlds will collide…and I will do my best to bask in the joy and remember the words quoted by Seneca: "There are more things to alarm us than to harm us, and we suffer more often in apprehension than in reality.”
In the meantime, please pray for safe travels tomorrow and upon our return, Sunday, Dec. 4…and let the exuberance commence!
