The Return Voyage

Wow, I’ve been “home” for a couple days now and I’m just getting around to doing this.

First I’ll write about the trip home and then I’ll get to the “what I’ve learned” part in the next blog. I was going to try and do it all in one, but I've been so busy since I've been back, I haven't been able to get straight in my head what I want to say. 

As is typical in the United States, I hit the ground running just as soon as I got off the plane. Thankfully, God provided a bit of a respite even in my travels when he allowed me and 3 other members of the Faceless team to be upgraded to First Class for the 10-hour flight home. Though I feel a little guilty that the rest of the team was stuck in coach, the added comfort of First Class was very welcomed.

After getting off the plane and through customs in New York, I had to rush to make my flight to Milwaukee. In the end, the rush was unnecessary as my flight was an hour and a half late. This in turn caused me to miss my connecting flight in Milwaukee. The airline was generous though and put me up for the night in the Wyndham Hotel. I didn’t sleep that well, but that was partially due to jet lag. I woke up at 5 am the next morning, had some Duncan Donuts and coffee and jumped on my flight to Minneapolis.  In Minneapolis, my beautiful wife surprised me by picking me up, which made the day great.  We had lunch at the Macaroni Grill and then spent the afternoon wandering through Ikea and the Mall of America (which was shocking to the senses after having been in Ukraine living with orphans the day before).  The next day I woke up to run over the set with Bright Light and then the Pilot for Kite set, and then it was off to play Water’s Edge in Albert Lea. 

This morning I woke up at 7:00 to see Mindy off. I spent morning drinking coffee and learning Russian. I’m going to be prepared for the next trip. Despite the coffee and non-drowsy cold medicine I took, I fell back asleep at 11 for another two hours. I’m really hoping my body becomes acclimated to the central time zone soon. Tonight we head to Wisconsin for another show. Then it's off to Illinois for a week long camp.

I'm really looking forward to getting back to Omaha and seeing my dog Henry and spending some more time with my wife and friends, but for now I've just got to keep pressing on. If Ukraine taught me anything, it's that time can fly by faster now that it ever has in the past.