This trip is so different from the last one

To start, I'm wearing jeans and a sweatshirt. On this flight, I'm going to be comfortable.

My first trip to France was filled with uncertainty. I had a vague memory of this man I was going to meet -- having only known him for 9 days beforehand. I had fears about speaking French. And, I wanted everything to be perfect as though I were scripting a movie. The plot was already too romantic and too hilariously perfect for me... I had no doubt that I was living in some sort of fiction.

This trip is the real one. I know where I'm going. I know how Nice looks, smells and sounds. I know this man who is going to meet me at the airport. And rather than getting ready to go on a trip, as I did last time, I feel that I'm actually returning from one.

On this flight, I'm going home.

There's still uncertainty and mystery. There's still excitement. Butterflies. And I'm still a little nervous. (So is the Professor apparently... he's been obsessively cleaning the apartment.)

But, I'm also simply happy. This is good. This is fun. This is the day that this new life begins. And minus the three pounds I have to take out of my luggage before boarding, I think I'm ready for it.