Blessing and Curses

I currently commute from the west coast where I have family to tend to, to New York City where I teach. I am fortunate. I’ve been able to arrange a temporary fix that allows me to be here for my family on the west, while still maintaining my business on the east. That’s the boon of being my own boss.

The downside is I fly a lot.

Flying is a drag.

But, it isn’t all bad. I have a dedicated six hours of quiet, uninterrupted time to work. I get to watch “chick flicks” sometimes (which, living in a house of boys, I usually have to do after everyone has gone to bed or camping).

Flying a lot means I have “medallion status.” Medallion status means that whenever possible, they pull me from the pleeb seats and put me in the sweet seats.

I’m not gonna lie - the sweet seats are nicer.

That’s the boon to flying a lot.

Nevertheless, I am still on a plane. No matter how nice the upgrade, or the movie, it is still flying. I still have to go through the security routine, pack my bag so that it will fit in the overhead bin and under the seat in front of me, and in such a way that I have the proper clothing, which is always a bit of a mystery because the weather on either coast is very different, and make sure that all my liquids fit in a quart size bag. There are a million little and large annoyances that come with flying.

None of that changes when they upgrade you.  What I am trying to say is this; everything we do is a combination of boons and curses. Subconsciously we may know this, but sometimes it helps to break it down.

This week I am taking a much-needed break from travel. My family has a small cabin in the woods (you can read a little more about it here). I’m going to escape to the woods and unplug a little.

The upsides are obvious; a cabin in the woods near a lake. Duh.

The downsides; I have to pack AGAIN. And this time I am packing for a family of four. And I am not just talking about packing clothes and toothbrushes. Packing for the lake is like packing to move to a new house. There is the food, first aid, books, board games, bikes, the dog stuff - the list goes on and on and on. And I do all this while to listening to swooning songs of the boy band Bored Kids Eager to Hit the Road who replay their greatest hits of “Can we go yet?!” and “He hit me!” over and over and over again.

Getting out of town to go to the woods is an endeavor. You gotta really want to go to get there.

And isn’t that the whole point of doing anything? If we really want it, we have to do a little work to get it. It makes the getting all the sweeter.

This week everyone’s off from training. All the students are getting a well-earned break that I know they will use to work on practicing all their new-found skills (wink, wink ;)).

I hope you get a break too. And if you fly, I hope you get an upgrade. Those seats really are a lot better.

See you on the flip side!