Saying goodbye is hard to do!

WELP! Just arrived in London at Heathrow airport! I think I’ve been overconfident leading up to my departure….to say the least. I spent yesterday buying plane tickets, waiting on my Eurorail ticket to arrive, packing, and finalizing everything that *most* people would have had done months in advance.

Before I knew it, Dad was loading up my things into the car: ready or not. And for the first time it hit me that….I.Was.NOT.

When Mom and Dad dropped me off at the airport I started to cry! At 27 years old I have never been away from anyone in my family for more than a couple of weeks. And during those couple of weeks, we have always had the ability to talk to text at any time. Not this time around! Oh, and here’s my deep secret: I am TERRIFIED of being alone! Even a trip to the store has never been an experience I enjoy solo. And don’t even get  me started on eating alone in public!!! *GASP!*

So all of the sudden I find myself standing in the middle of DFW airport…tears down my face…scared to death!

I went to Fridays to try to eat before my 9 hour overnight flight. Then it was time! The flight was packed. I sat down and the pretty blonde girl next to me said: “Did you know you can get free wine on this flight?” And I instantly knew we were going to be friends.

So we spent the first few hours of our flight drinking wine and talking about our journeys. Turns out she is 2 years older than me and from a city nearby. She met a guy in London and was on the plane with just a few suitcases….MOVING THERE! She got rid of her condo & everything she owned except her few suitcases that she packed full. What courage!!

We had so much in common. First of all, we were both freaking out about what the heck we were doing! She too had never left her family, so we had a lot of shared emotions. As the flight went on we talked about everything in between. She was awesome! We exchanged emails and I am going to try to stay with her or meet her on the train for a short trip while out here! When we got off the plane we shared a big hug and lots of congratulations to one another. It was just what I needed to smile and move forth.

What a great start to this adventure. I was shaking walking onto the plane and God placed just the right person in the seat next to me to reassure me that this is a great thing. Well, it was either her or the wine that was so reassuring, but either way it relaxed me and I went right to sleep. Next thing I knew I was hopping off the plane attempting to navigate my way around this intimidatingly HUGE airport! 

I have about 2 hours until my next flight. By 8:30 tonight I should be walking out of the airport and officially beginning my journey in SWEDEN!!! I can’t believe it! And there is no one else I am more excited to see first thing than my sweet friend Ola!

Now, one final question: Shrimp or spicy chili thai potato chips for snack???

HoOt!