Journey to Phnom Penh - Day 1

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Today, I left the two loves of my life to embark upon an adventure of a lifetime. I am so grateful to have this opportunity thanks to the unwavering support of my amazing husband. Saying goodbye to my hubby and precious baby Charlie’s face was heartbreaking. I think Charlie laughed his heartiest laugh yet while I tickled him during the car ride to the airport – I soaked in that moment with all I had – I miss his kissable face the most. I cried, hugged, and kissed my loves goodbye and made the boys promise to take care of each other. It has only been 12 hours and I can’t wait to get home to hold them again. Two weeks with my heart walking outside my body 12,000 miles away may have been a bad idea. If only I could have taken them with me in my suitcase. “See mom, I fit in your suitcase and I even have my sun hat!”

Aside from my longing to see my family and wishing they were here with me, I plan to make the most of this journey. Somehow being almost 10,000 miles away across the Pacific, separated from the chaos of school, commuting, and recent family tragedies (and triumphs), I am already feeling a sense of clarity. On the plane ride, I have found myself reflecting a lot upon what has happened these few months and consider myself incredibly lucky for the many blessings we have. I am looking forward to this experience in Cambodia and Viet Nam, undoubtedly it will provide a deeper understanding of other cultures and the peoples’ own tragedies and triumphs. Let’s just hope I can keep it together!

It is about 11:45 pmChicagotime and I’m hoping my boys are fast asleep. I am missing you! And for my parents, brother and all those who loved Andy, I was sorry to miss the final farewell today. I love you and wish I could give you all hugs. I was grateful to have the opportunity to say goodbye last night and am sending my love to Andrea and the family.

On to much lighter notes…First of all, everyone made to the airport on time, unscathed. Success! Even Pablito, Tim Woerner’s “pet” penguin made it. Oh, I suppose not everyone was unscathed…Jaya did lose her phone…again. D’oh. Thankfully she won’t need it where we’re going.

Second, this airplane is aaaaamaaaazing! I felt like we were stepping into the future. Everything inside is white, with bright green luxurious seating in the first and business class sections, and blue in the economy class (yep, that’s where we’re seated). The flight attendants are all perfect, beautiful women with porcelain skin, hair pulled back in buns with ribbons, and pristine uniforms of blue button up blouses and white skirts. There were a few comforts awaiting us at our seats: blankets, pillows, headphones and slippers for the long flight fromChicagotoSeoul,Korea. Even the food is delicious – well, for airplane food lets just say I’m impressed!

There are a lot of modern conveniences including touch screen televisions stocked with new releases, music, and video games. You can even view cameras to see what we’re flying through and over, and a map of where we are. So far, I’ve watched the movieLincoln, a documentary about nanotechnology and Silver Linings Playbook. All of which, were quite good. Silver Linings Playbook was hilarious and I got a lot of funny looks from those around me for my ridiculously loud laugh. I also attempted to do a couple hours of work so far, on my journal comment…but that was interrupted by lunch which was obviously much more important.

Our group is all sitting together for the most part in aisles 46-50, and I’ve met a few nice people already. There is one couple who has their daughter, about one year old, with them on the plane and it makes me miss Charlie, even more, every time I see or hear her.

Toodles for now, I think we land inSeoulin a few hours. Going to catch some zzz’s.

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