So it begins

This trip is strange in that, more than any other trip I've taken, the preparation has been going on for months but it feels almost surprising and wrong that I'm leaving tonight for the hotel near the airport and hopping on a plane early tomorrow morning.  I've made several international trips to places where I don't speak the language and for relatively long amounts of time (up to almost five weeks in a stint), but this one is a bit more surreal somehow.  I think it has to do more with where I'm at in life than it does with the trip.  The longest I've been away from my wife is only around two weeks since we've been married, and that's similarly the longest I've been away from my ministry, dojo, and The Gamers Guild community.  I get small breaks in the pace around here, but they are predictable and only last about a week at most (our yearly trip to live in the national headquarters dojo in Chicago for a week, certain recurring ministry trips or Aikido camps etc.).  After those mini-breaks, I'm rejuvenated for the work here, but it's not such a big break in the normal routine.  This 7-week trip is the size of break in life I need to get a better perspective as I pray and reflect about things back here, but I haven't had a break like this since before my lifestyle changed to being primarily ministry oriented.  As such, it feels like I'll be right back here next week anyway, so the mental impact hasn't really sunk in.

It's probably further amplified because I am trying to live each day in the 'now' of the day as I prepare to head out.  I've had a couple moments where I've wanted to be overly stressed by the sheer volume of work that has had to get done as I prepared to outsource 7 weeks of work in advance, but it really prevents me from living for Christ in the moment/from being present in the moment.  As such, I have had to continually re-center with prayer and remind myself that every day preparing for this trip (and being on it once I'm there) is just like any other day.  My spiritual center doesn't shift just due to a change in circumstances or locations, and I do plan to stick to my centering practices abroad, as well (prayer time/meditation, certain physical stretches for well being, etc.).  

I have begun to slightly feel the impact of the trip--Thursday (three days ago) after kids' class it hit home that I will not be teaching another youth class in my dojo for 7 weeks.  I also felt a shift of pace Friday in the basics class that one of my students is teaching to prepare for having his own club in Kansas City later in the year.  This was the first time I've been a student in my own dojo in its 'regular' routine.  I've had other instructors in for seminars etc., and I've been a student of theirs; I've also been a student at other schools, but it was unique and interesting being a student of my own school.  I quite enjoyed it, but the feel reminded me of other times I've studied Aikido elsewhere and started shifting me into more of a departure mode.

Saturday (yesterday) I taught my last class in Wichita for awhile (it's about 3 hours away from here--a few of my students live there and practice together; I head down about once a month to teach/support them as they train), and I also attended an Aikido workshop in Warrensburg, MO with my wife and five of my students.  It still felt like a usual trip to Warrensburg (we head there semi-frequently to train with the dojo there; they also head our way semi-frequently).  The fact that I am heading out today was still just a fact for most of the trip.  We stayed late and had good chats and arrived in Hays late last night/early this morning like we usually would.  Here are some photos from the workshop.

Finally, this morning I prayed and centered and have begun final preparations; all of my uniforms are getting washed with a product to prolong how much time they can go between washes in Japan, I'm hand-washing my hakama (black pleated pants that are part of my uniform) and drying it using a method Nakayama Sensei posted to youtube to help maintain the pleats, and it at least feels like I'm headed out to Colorado with my wife (which is true).  That said, it mostly feels like a relaxed short trip still.  I suspect on the drive, and especially once I'm on the plane that the reality of the trip will finally really begin to sink in.  

Thanks to everyone who's been praying for me and who has supported me for this trip--though it's only getting to the hotel near the airport, it truly does begin today!