It’s not a simple thing getting an airplane ready to depart. You need to carry the right amount of fuel and food and beverages. You need to have everything cleared away from the last flight. You need to make sure that everything is in good mechanical order, and that you are prepared for emergencies as well as routine travel.
What do you need to do to prepare for your next literal or figurative journey? What will you carry with you?
This year I will be accompanied on my next journey by a young Nigerian man who, having been born in the USA thirty years ago, is now living here and is aspiring to work, gain more education and reach for the stars in this country! He is a cultured, focused, educated person whose family in Nigeria generally is in favor of this endeavor. I am serving as his “adopted grandmother” and he will be accompanying me on our short Thanksgiving trip to my friend’s home this Thursday. He will be introduced to another of our traditions! Yesterday he saw his FIRST snowflakes and is experiencing what Autumn is like in the Midwest and will discover the four seasons. He accommodates to a Western society in which he is a Muslim minority and will be one of the non alcoholic drinking guests at the gathering. In many ways, I am carrying my hopes that he will feel comfortable and happy in his newly chosen path in life.