And he's off...

Well, I just dropped Matt off at the airport for the first business trip he's taken since Melanie was born. He'll be in Victorville, CA for 1-2 weeks, depending on how well the weather and the plane cooperate with the testing.

I really hate sending people off on business trips. Ever since I was a kid I've had this dislike of work related travel. My dad had to travel pretty regularly, so you would think I would be used to it, but the opposite is true. I get incredibly anxious any time someone has to leave on business. As unreasonable as it may have been, I always worried that my dad wouldn't make it home. If the weather happened to be even slightly overcast that anxiety was amplified ten fold. And this anxiety is strictly tied to business travel. I've never felt this way about people going on any other sort of trip. I know it's irrational. It's silly at best. I have friends that bravely send their spouses off to the Middle East to fulfill their duty to our country for months at a time, and here I am stressing out about a two week trip to California.

As I was pulling away from the curb at the airport I could feel the tightness growing in my chest. I took deep breaths, tried to reason with myself, but all the same I could feel the anxiety coming. I spent the entire drive home telling myself I was being silly, and Matt would be home before I knew it. All the same, I was glad I had made sure Matt kissed Melanie goodbye and that I had gotten that last hug in.

Melanie and I are home, and I'm doing ok now, but I know these thoughts will creep into my mind in the days to come, and I'm going to have to muster whatever it takes to overcome them when that time comes. All this, and Matt's plane hasn't even taken off yet...