Flying Solo and Sober
A week from today, universe willing, I will be eating Nutella out of a glass jar as I rally against jet lag and soak up the sun (or, more likely, seek shelter from the rain) in Cambridge, England. It is my 10th MBA reunion, and this sober stay-at-home mom is flying solo y'all.My husband was the one who encouraged me to go. Of course, he really had to twist my arm to get me to book a trip by myself across the pond to spend two and a half days in one of my favorite places on the planet. And then, of course, he booked himself a week-long solo sojourn to indulge in one of his many hobbies involving machinery and tools and making stuff. Sigh. At least I'll get to catch up on all my shows. But anyway.Thursday to Sunday. A quick, precious, jet-lagged journey of nostalgia and reconnection and contemplation lies ahead of me and I can't wait.While I feel very distant from the person I was during my MBA program (a decade younger, newly engaged to my now-husband, and driven to become a CEO of a non-profit), I am excited to go back. I may be the only unemployed person there. I will not be drinking at the gala dinner or partaking in any pints at my favorite pub. I will own these choices - my choice to stay at home to raise my kids and my choice to not drink.I have chosen to stay home with my kids over having a career, despite spending one year of my life (and a lot of our money) earning a Masters in Business Administration. Do I want to return to work one day? Yes. What do I want to do? I don't know. What I do know is that I want to leave a positive mark on the world; and in the meantime, I have put my heart and soul into raising two awesome humans. I'm doing a really good job, too (my son's camp counselor told me so) and I wouldn't change a thing.Except for all the wine I drank along the way.Well, would I change that, if I could? I'm actually not so sure. Because if I hadn't gotten to the point where I started to question my drinking, I wouldn't be where I am now. I would still be treading in the booze pool. I would still be waking up in the morning feeling puffy and achy and groggy, swearing today will be a wine-free day, only to pour the inevitable first glass when the witching hour strikes. Day after day, denying myself the energy and health and creativity and eyes-wide-open lust for life that I have now.I may be ten years older than I was when I walked the cobblestone streets of this 800-year-old university and absorbed with vigor all things business (except accounting - I cried my way through accounting). But my heart feels ten times bigger. My brain feels ten times more curious, my mind ten times more open.So, no regrets. And what a relief it is that I won't feel the need to drink. There will be no mental volleying back and forth over whether wine will help me sleep on the overnight flight. There will be no risk of over-imbibing or having to depend on friends to get me back to my dorm(!) room. Booze is off the table and that feels right to me right now.Instead, there will be full, raw, real emotion. And there will be clear, wonderful memories. Even awkwardness (I'm anticipating some awkwardness as I try to communicate my deal to some of these folks) will be wonderful in its way - here I am, in this group of high achieving leaders in business, owning my choice to not be a high achieving leader in business.So, what am I? I am a mom. I am an athlete. I am a blogger. I am a volunteer. I am a pillar of love and security in my little family. I am a force of goodness in the world. A small but mighty force of goodness.If I do say so myself. I'm owning it.And yes, Nutella does taste better out of a glass jar. And no, I will not be tracking it. I'm owning that choice, too.