Getting the passes ready...

2009 will be a year of transition for me. Sadly, I have lost my marriage and along with it many dreams, hopes, beliefs, and benefits. One benefit greatly missed will be the travel perks I enjoyed being married to an airline employee. No, J., this is not even on the top 10 things that I will miss now that we will be parting paths. I have had to grieve, and will continue to grieve in my own time, many other things far more important that were lost between us.

But calling me a travel junkie is like calling Edward Cullen sexy (sorry, had to drop my Twilight obsession in here somewhere). Sitting on my desk is the final stack of spouse passes for the ex's airline that will expire mid-April. So here I am, grasping at the vanishing freedom of being able to walk up unannounced to any ticket counter, fill in departure and arrival city codes, and walk onto a plane with nary a penny spent. How many destinations will I be able to add to my check list before these passes expire? My experiment has a few curve balls. On top of my full-time job as a dental hygienist, I also teach kickboxing during the evenings, volunteer as a bass player for my church's worship team, and am in the final 6 weeks of training for a 50-K. Throw in the other typical time-consuming activities (friends, family, cat, reading Twilight), and you'll be joining me on an interesting journey of balance of priorities while blasting through as many airports as possible.