Alone in Krakow

I’m here at the Kraków airport waiting for the Bombardier flight to Warsaw, where I’ll catch a LOT jet to the U.S. @GMuxx just boarded for Amsterdam, and I’m really, truly alone for the first time since I left Chicago. I’ll be here for hours, too—I shared an Uber with Muxxy and his flight was four hours ahead of me. I might as well get comfortable.

It’s not an issue of fear—I feel very secure here and I’m happy with my itinerary. It’s that being surrounded by so much positive energy for a solid week means that re-entry into a world without it feels like stepping from the warmth of a family hearth into nuclear winter. It’s harsh. And toxic. And I miss my friends.

Leaving Kraków this morning felt like emotional surgery. No, I didn’t have sand in my eyes. I was crying, all the way from the bridge over the river to the airport. I was in the back seat of the car watering the floorboard, and even Muxxy didn’t realize I was in pieces until we stepped out at Arrivals. Thank God. Yeah, maybe it’s a little embarrassing. This was my fourth meetup and I thought I was getting past this. Nope. Even my own advice to start planning the next meetup before the current one ends was not enough to make me feel better.

By the time I’m over the Atlantic I’ll be fine. Well, at least okay. Some of us Steemfest stragglers had conversation last night about getting together in the States this spring. Gosh, I hope that happens. In the meanwhile, we have some pretty great memories of Poland to carry us through. So Steem on, folks! Even better times ahead.