Draining Down the Time

With two hours left before the cab arrived, they were waiting patiently, anticipating their trip. Excitement wasn't easy to muster, dulled by long years of depression and blunted further by the injuries they'd suffered in the recent months. Still, a familiar tingle, that mixture of readiness and eagerness to succeed before a challenge, crept slowly up their spine, building further as they acknowledged its encouraging presence.

Recognizing their own feelings of motivation was one of their weaknesses, they would only admit in private. Few and far between, they knew it would be a while until they felt this way again. It was important, therefore, to take advantage of that sense of purpose and potential while it lasted. They began by making completely sure that everything was necessary for their trip. Arrangements had been made to get them to their flight, as well as backup arrangements, especially after their catastrophic failure in getting overseas the month prior. Their suitcase had been packed with clean clothes, a laundry bag, and extra outfits for their free time. Of course, their work bag was packed too, with tools, pens, books, extra games, in-flight amusements, and headphones. Their phone was charged and ready, but there was something they were still sure they forgot. Whatever it was, the mystery item's identity eluded them, so they chalked it up to a loss, for the moment, and went about seeing to the next task.

Because they knew that this would be a demanding weekend, they set about preparing the field for their success. Self-care was a cornerstone of this, and since their flight was early and they already knew sleep was pretty much a lost cause, they went for a few other positive options. First, they went and made sure to fuel up before their trip. Dinner, officially, had been a while ago, and they knew they could use a snack. Then, after that was all squared away, they went and showered up, not just for themselves, but hopefully also for the benefit of everyone around them on the flight. That reminded them: they needed their toiletry bag for the trip! So in it went, into the suitcase, and they were ready to roll as soon as the cab came up.

They still had some time, so they spent it with a couple of time-wasting games and funny videos. All but one of their friends seemed to be asleep already, and she was, of course, working on the other side of the world. They left her a little love, then went to leave as their ride pulled up in front of their house. As they left to venture off into the wild blue yonder, they reflected on where they were - having traded the anxieties most other people had for other, less common ones, they had what others considered an unusual definition of success, but with what they'd been able to achieve, they seemed to be doing well. Mastery of their own demons could come later, they decided, and with a final look at the closing door behind them, they headed out into the night, their stark purple suitcase trailing and rumbling behind.