Its 7AM.  I am sitting quietly watching the  hustle and bustle of a Saturday morning at the Portland International Airport.  I am waiting for my puddle jumper flight north to Seattle from where I’ll fly south to Santa Barbara, California to begin my 16 day journey in to yoga.

Ace and the kids just dropped me off at the terminal and we said our goodbyes. I don’t think its really set in for the boys just how long I’ll be gone. I gave Thing One the “your the man of the house while I’m gone” talk over peanut butter coated bagels. I told him its a lot of responsibility for a six year old, but that he is up for the task. He certainly liked the idea of being second in charge. Hopefully Ace doesn’t go crazy, her trip down to San Diego next week with the boys will be hectic but just what she needs while I am gone.

Untethered from my family and work for the first time in… ever, I find myself starting to ask questions.

What in the world am I doing? Why in the world am I doing this? What will this experience be like? What will I be like when I emerge from it? Am I up to the demands of this program? What will the 29 other students be like? Will I be the least experienced yogi? Who will be my roommate for the next 16 days and what will he be like? Will there even be any other men enrolled? Can I stay away from my phone and macbook except to blog or call home? Will I emerge from this a newly christened yoga teacher? or will I just come home with a really expensive photo of me in Pincha Muyurasana for my Facebook page?

These questions, and many more I am sure will be answered as a travel down this path. I’ll try to capture them here along the way.

“Now boarding flight 2550 to Seattle…”