In 2021, I found myself somewhere over Afghanistan, reclining in my first-class Delta One cabin, holding a glass of champagne and wondering if I'd truly lost my mind. I had recently gone through a divorce, quit my job, moved to a new state, and was now flying alone to meet five colleagues I'd never met in person.

The problem with making decisions is that they often lead to more big decisions. You kick one rock and it hits another rock and all of the sudden you have a rock slide. Turns out that kicking rocks at 40 feels really good, so I pulled on my shoes and started nudging and bumping every area.

For the past few months I’ve sat in the sun and let the Aegean heat seep into my skin, through my blood and into my bones. My mind found peace watching the leaves push through the hard branches on the tree out front as winter turned to spring. The silly cats winding around my legs. The clouds surfing the sea between our village and Chios and Türkiye in the distance.