Waiting for Take-Off
When you are sitting on the runway awaiting lift-off, the flight attendants go through a series of safety directions. You know them. Make sure your seat belt is fastened. There are three sets of exits, etc. All too often, we zone out during this process. And I admit to having done that very thing.We never expect a change in cabin pressure, but... yada yada yada... oxygen masks will drop from... blah, blah, blah... If you are traveling with young children, please place your mask on before assisting them. What? (Insert sound of needle sliding across an LP album.) Wait. Rewind.Please place your mask on before assisting them.So you're telling me that if I don't take care of myself, I am no good to my kids. Yes, Traci, that is what they are saying. and anyone who has watched more than one episode of Oprah should know that. I know. I know. But sometimes even when you know, you forget. And I forgot.The last few months, I have been like the mom who is struggling for air and about to pass out while trying to put masks on her children. And so it is probably no wonder that I have been less than my best. It literally took this trip and that routine admonishment by the perky attendant to make me remember that which I already knew.This trip was so valuable to me. Not because it was fun -- which it was. Not because I hung out with some super cool people -- which I did. Not because I found some great deals -- believe me, I found! No, it was wonderful because for the first time in a long time... for the first time in too long, I focused on myself.Yes, it was terrific to sleep in a big bed without anyone under four feet joining me as they flee from nightmares. And taking a bath without a knock on the door is a genuine luxury. But those are circumstance changes not core issues. The reality is that at home, I have not been setting boundaries to protect myself. I have not given myself space to breathe.So I am thankful for the time it took to remember. I am thankful to my helium-voiced director with her Jim Carrey look-a-like back-up. I have come home with renewed energy. I have come home with a commitment to myself. I have come home to myself.