It’s been so long since I’ve flown. Some may laugh at what I consider to be “so long”, but it’s been 22 months since the last time I packed a suitcase and weighed it, since I’ve seen a pilot with his bird wing badge or flight attendants in high heels. It’s been 22 months since I’ve been several hours early to any event from excitement, anticipation, and fear of missing a flight. For a 22 year-old woman who’s flown over 200 hours and spent quite a few rushing through airports to a connecting flight, 22 months is a long time not to fly.
I woke up this morning to the violent fluttering of butterflies in my stomach, screaming at me to open my mouth and sing. Then they could fly out- and merely make space for more butterflies. Sitting in the PHF terminal by gate B3 though, I am quieter and calmer than I’ve been in months. In a foreign terminal full of strangers and one serving friendships, I am home.
As a TCK, when you first come to your passport country, you are acutely aware that you are not home- you don’t belong. After 3 years of being here though, Virginia has become home to me. I have grown close to people, gotten involved with a church family, invested heavily on the ODU campus, and even fallen in love. Virginia is very much home to me now, but sitting here today, I am reminded of that other part of me. I have forgotten that airports are home to me. I have forgotten what flying to see friends and family is like. I’ve forgotten what being with people I grew up with or places I grew up in is like- until now. Yes, I remember now; I have many homes.
I can’t wait to get off the plane in Portland to be greeted by my long time best friend, Stacey. I can’t wait to be a part of one of the biggest days of her life. I can’t wait to see a friend from my Yokohama days as well as a dorm mom and yet another classmate from Faith Academy. It’s going to be great! Portland, here I come!
sachikorose 