Parting is such sweet sorrow ... and taking off from Belfast International involved tears and relief that someone had had the wit to take down the Harp sign from the terminal building. I watched the Welcome to Belfast sign for as long as possible, holding on to the lasting impressions from the hugs of my family and friends.
The 7 hours at 35,000 feet went quite quickly and immigration was smoothly aided by a generous and warm Officer. It's weird to have November 2013 as the date by which I have to leave the new frontier but something familiar is afoot when the baggage staff in Newark welcome you home!
I thought I'd settle myself into the new life with a manicure in Newark airport - well a girl has to look the part. However, I was confronted in my chillaxing with the wall reminder that:
'Every single one of us, at various times, finds ourselves forced to endure
a situation we probably wouldn't choose'
What a leveler. It's easy to be so fixated on our own journeys that we become numb to the travels of our fellow passengers. How many people have been displaced since Richard and I accepted the opportunity to move to Washington? Have I considered those still without shelter in Haiti who are trying to outrun Cholera? What about the woman who loses her home as she escapes domestic violence? Or the minorities who are oppressed and decried because they're different from the 'norm' - whatever that means...? Or my 94 year old granny who faces displacement from her home because her physical form needs more care despite what her mind says?
I've been thinking a lot about dislocation - the process or result of things not being where they should be; life not being the way it was supposed to be. Or the reality that at various points in all our lives God uproots us - physically, emotionally, spiritually - and sets us somewhere else. Sometimes He is gentle with us, wooing and cajoling us along; other times he sends a whirlwind because He's maybe struggling to get our attention or maybe just because....
I'm hoping that my dislocation breeds compassion for my fellow travellers who are all in varying stages of being picked up and set-down somewhere else.
