I was on a Southwest flight back to college after a visit home. During our traditional catch-up dates Greg had shared with me that his work might be moving him to Tulsa. I played it off in the moment, "Oh that's so great! What a wonderful opportunity for you!" but inside I was crushed. Here was my best friend telling me he was moving halfway across the country, as if being on opposite sides of the state wasn't bad enough! I like to think I hid my hurt well.
Let me back up a bit...
At the time, it must have been sometime in my junior year which would have been 2004-2005 (?) I had grand plans of being an acquisitions editor at an A-List publishing house in New York City. Despite the fact that I'd never been there (still haven't), I was absolutely convinced that I would be in heaven! I'd have a great apartment in the city, with lots of friends and we'd have parties and go out dancing on the town. It was going to be great! And what better job could God dream up for me? I imagined myself curled up in a big, over sized, over stuffed, red chair with an ottoman reading by the fire with a lovable kitty cat curled up next to me and deciding which books were good enough to make it to print. This was only one half of my dream job. The other half was getting gussied up and going out on the town for my clients to schmooze me with three martini power lunches. Man, I look good in a tailored business suit, or at least I did in my day dreams. For some reason the idea of me packing up and moving away didn't hurt me nearly as badly as the thought of him leaving for Tulsa.
I remember getting on that plane to leave, getting my ginger ale and the napkin with the map of the US and all of the cities that Southwest flies to. I remember looking at Ontario and Sacramento and then looking at Tulsa and Albany and I remember the tears flowing.
Sitting on the plane today, I couldn't help but to recall that moment, that sign from God, when I got my ginger ale and the napkin with the map on it. I have never liked being away from Greg, and I don't like it now that I'm his wife even if it is only for a few days. I thank God for sending him to me and for finally getting the message through my thick skull!
