I Need Your Help

Eight months – that is feeling like a really long time to be gone. When I left for my last voyage four months felt like a long time, but I quickly realized that four months goes by really quickly. I really didn’t miss that much while I was gone. But eight months is feeling so much bigger, so much scarier than four months ever did.

At first I thought it was feeling big because most of my adult life has been lived in semesters – four month increments that do fly by. But then I realized that all of us – whether you work in higher ed or not – live in four month increments. As the summer comes to an end it’s only four months until Christmas, then it will only be four months until Spring, then only four months until the end of summer and the start of school. Four months feels reasonable, manageable, long enough to have an adventure but not long enough that I miss too much here at home. I guess that’s why eight months is feeling so much bigger to me this time.

I’ve already thought about all that I will miss this year… My god daughter will be talking when I get back. My college roommate’s newborn will be pulling himself up and getting ready to walk. I’ll miss every holiday and I’ll miss a whole TV season (I know that’s lame I even thought about that). My sister and her husband will have been in their new house for almost a year and I will never have even seen the inside (they close on the house four days after I leave). And here is the real kicker – when I come back I will have a one month old niece or nephew! Yup, I’m going to miss almost all of my sister’s pregnancy, the birth and their first month home. The reality of eight months away really hits me with that one!

I know that once I’m on the ship and focused on work and the adventure that time will fly by like always and when I come back I’ll be able to slip back into old relationships like we didn’t skip a beat. I know that…intellectually. That doesn’t make it any easier to come to terms with all of the things I will miss.

The weight of eight months is also weighing heavy on my shoulders because last time I lived on the ship was the first time that I ever experienced homesickness. Not having a phone to pick up when I want or a TV or movies to distract me or a familiar friend to chat with or go to lunch with all made ship life hard at times. I made good friends on the ship last time, and know I will this time as well, but there is something different about spending time with a friend you have history with, a friend who really knows you, a friend who knows your quirks and your past. It’s hard to go for a long period of time with very limited contact with any of those friends and family.

That is where I could use your help. While I’m gone I want to hear about what’s going on in your lives here. I think last time people were afraid to send me updates about their own lives because they thought I would not be interested or feel it’s mundane compared to my world adventure. Let me make it perfectly clear….THAT IS NOT TRUE. I love hearing about what is going on here…I need to hear what’s going on here…it really helps me feel connected and less homesick. Tell me about your day…keep me up on work gossip…what’s going on in the news?...how about Hollywood trash news?...give me an update on what’s happening on the hot TV shows…tell me about your trip to the grocery store…whatever you want. Everything helps me feel less homesick and less out of the loop with home.

Email is the best way to communicate – we will have internet on the ship and I should be able to get on email every couple of days. Please send me updates on your life – send pictures, tell stories, any tidbit will do. It doesn’t have to be some grand story or adventure. It’s the simple things in normal life that I am going to miss most.

Thank you for your help! Only eight days til take off!