My time in Louisville has come to an end. This week has been interesting; Louisville is interesting. While, the road trip here opened my eyes and my heart to what may be my new normal for domestic travel, I inevitably have to return home a different way: by plane.
I haven’t flown anywhere since my February trip to San Diego. When COVID-19 brought the world to a screeching halt, I wrote off airplane travel for the foreseeable future. I canceled all my 2020 flights and bypassed all the travel flight deals, despite how tempting they were.
Now here I am… checked in for my flight home and riddled with anxiety. I’ve obsessively read all the procedures, checked in with all my friends who have flown during the pandemic, purchased a “Fly Happy & Clean” travel kit, but I still feel wholly unprepared.
I’ve been flying since I was a toddler, and flying by myself for nearly as long, but this upcoming flight home feels like I’m flying for the first time ever. To quell my fears, I keep reminding myself that not much of my travel ritual is actually changing.
Pre-pandemic, I obsessively sanitized my area on the plane, and my luggage when I got home. I’m used to avoiding the crowds near the boarding gate. I’ve always hoped my flights weren’t full and celebrated every time the middle seat was empty. Sure, wearing a mask will be different, but I’ve been wearing a mask for 4+ months now… I’ve accepted it as an annoying necessity. Like seat belts. So, here’s to traveling grace on my trip home.
I’ve already made plans to self-quarantine when I get to Houston, and I’ll be using that time to finish all the blog posts about my time in Louisville. Today’s post is the last post of the consistency challenge by Mattie James. This is the most content this blog has seen since I launched in October 2016. Wow. This challenge stretched me, but I proved to myself that I can commit to blogging regularly. I hope you’ve enjoyed July’s content and will join me on my future adventures.
