The In Betweens: 7 Things I've Learned After 7 Trips

"Nobody here knocking at my door,

the sound of silence I can't take anymore..."

-Armin Van Buuren

Well. It's 7 trips later and I'm still learning things about patience. I'm learning a little about the TSA (not much, I'm not sure anyone will ever fully figure them out) and a lot about the kindness and understanding of those around me. 

I'm learning a lot about maturity and a lot more about getting back up once you hit the ground. Isn't that funny? I train these habits all the time in MMA, but sometimes the 'real life' version is so, so... so much harder. A few things I've learned:

1. I miss the weirdest things about being together. Mostly things like brushing our teeth together, or going out and shoveling at 7:30pm. Or even running to the grocery store to pick up stuff for my mom. Or car rides. Or washing dishes. Or the fact that neither of us can remember where our precious cell phones are during each trip.

2. Airports just aren't as vast and scary as they used to be. After layovers, cancelled flights, broken planes, walking out onto a very wet and very windy tarmac at 10pm, I don't mind twiddling my thumbs at the average flights.

3. Going to bed on time is very important. Essentially, I'm an old person who needs sleep- so therefore, I insist that everyone goes to bed early whenever a Clifton is over. I kid. Mostly. BUT. After about 6 trips, I learned that if you don't get enough sleep, the last few days of the trip are very, very rugged. As in everyone is mopey and too tired to do anything. Not good news.

4. Jacob eats like 3 small ponies. Just in case anyone was wondering. And no, he would probably disagree and say he eats like 4 large ponies. The funny thing is, he is such a good southerner with such good southern manners, he will never ask for anything. In fact, anytime I've ever asked Jacob if he's hungry, he politely responds, "I'm okay for right now!" To which I responded something along the lines of, "You've said that the whole trip. If that was really the case, you'd probably be dead right now."

Needless to say, I made him eat just about 24/7. In other news, donate now to the Small Pony Fund!

5. Working out together is so much fun. I love working out. I do. But when I'm tired or grumpy or generally being a pain, I would rather take a nap. However, having someone to smack and be smacked into gear is wonderful. That, and Jacob and I can be workout junkies to our hearts content.

6. Waking up is the most exciting thing in the world during trips. Knowing there is another day defying the distance is amazing. Knowing you have another whole day to do crazy stuff, normal stuff, boring stuff, ANYTHING... it's a wonderful feeling.

7. Goodbyes are very hard. Tears are not a sign of weakness. Drop off zones at airports are my least favorite place in the world. Returning rides to airports are accompanied by a feeling unlike any other. It's an empty, twisting fear that even though you've got plans to see that person again, what if you never do? Why are you consciously, purposely driving your favorite person away so that they will get on a plane and fly over a thousand miles further away? Yes. Goodbyes are very hard indeed.

I've learned a zillion other things. But the biggest thing I've learned, bigger than a list sort of thing, is that God knows how to make a sad and silly person like me grow mature. I'm a far cry from perfect, but when I think back to the person I was in 2012... well. There's a miracle for you ;)

Oh. And something else I miss and have learned about these trips: When you go to the library together, read books about domestic cats, divorce, death, and Joel Osteen. Yeah. We're both grown up, aren't we?

The real question is, what is next?