Leaving on a Jet Plane

I am sitting on a plane headed for Washington DC. Alone. No kids. No husband. I have mixed feelings about this. In part I am excited for new experiences and an opportunity to learn and grow personally. Another part of me is nervous and lonely. I consider myself a relatively sheltered person. Due to limited finances I lived at home while attending college. Then when I got married at age twenty-one I went straight from my parents home to my new life with Josef. I became a mother at 23 without finishing college. My first time leaving the country was just last year. I have only lived in three areas: Utah for 18 months, California for 16 years, and Texas for 10 years. My parents have never lived more then a 45 minute drive away.

My two children and my husband are my life. They are my world. Leaving them for a few days is hard. I am embarrassed to admit that I almost cried walking out of the house. I know, I'm a baby. I told Josef a couple weeks ago that it was time for me to "put on my big girl pants". I am aware how incredibly immature that sounds. He thought this expression was funny and joked with me about it this morning before I left.

So why am I going to DC by myself? A few months ago when Mason was just a couple weeks old I entered a giveaway on the Million Moms Challenge, a non-profit organization dedicated to maternal health, and I won! The prizes were an IPad 2 (from which I am writing this blog post), a necklace from Million Moms, a donation made to the foundation in my name, and a trip to Washington DC.

The trip is not all fun and games, it has an important purpose that I am very excited to be apart of. The United Nations Foundation (who partnered with ABC news to sponser the Million Moms Challenge) will be launching a new campaign in April called Shot@Life which is dedicated to providing children around the world with the life saving vaccines they need to have a shot at a healthy, full life. As apart of the giveaway I was invited to a summit to help educate volunteers (mostly mothers) about how to build a grassroots following and spread the word about this important cause.

I struggled some what with the decision of whether to go. After a lot of thought and prayer I decided that this is an important opportunity for me, not only to gain new experiences, but to be a part of something important and exciting.

It's a little nerve racking to travel to a city that I am unfamiliar with and to be surround by people that I don't know. This is a step into the dark for me and waaaay out of my comfort zone, but like I told Josef it is time for me to put on my big girl pants!