jetbluin' out of the blues!

As i sit in the crowded & newly opened T5 terminal at JFK airport, the hustle and bustle of the world continues around me but leaves me untouched.  REally!  I feel confined to a little bubble of tranquility and peace.  Why?  Because I'm done hustling, papers turned in - homework done - tests taken [failed?] - and work complete for now.  key words: for now.  sometimes you just have to remove yourself from the chaos and take time to... oh yes, BREATHE.  that beautiful little thing that you do every second of every day that keeps you alive.  Family awaits me, and it's something I no longer take for granted.  Not that I feel I have, but, today, certainly in a stronger way than ever I appreciate that they'll be waiting for me on the other side.  6 hours, 32 blue chips, 25 back to back food network shows and a cat nap later I'll be home again.  No, I'll be family again.  I'll be whole.  complete.  Tough times challenge us day in day out, but there really is nothing else to get us through the turbulent, shaky, scary ups and downs life dishes without them.  Family: mom, dad, brother, they're all given as a precious gift without my choosing.  But luckily, family to ME is no longer defined by blood relativity.  Family has found me and blessed my life richly here on the east coast too.  Family has been found in the sisters I never had, and the relationships that provide more love and encouragement than I could ever ask for from people who just 4 years ago had never crossed my path.  So, in a sense, although getting on this plane will take me to the ones who raised me and have loved me through and through, it also means leaving behind my other family.  I'm blessed to have such loving people in my life and even more blessed to find them no matter which direction my little jetblue plane takes me.