1300 Miles
It's 1300 miles from Austin, Texas to Grand Haven, Michigan. I looked it up last night. It was important for me to know. I need to visit. I need to go home. Partly because I'm a little homesick and I haven't been there in almost four years and mostly because I feel like a terrible friend.
I estimated the distance in my head. I've driven from Austin to Texarkana many times and from Texarkana to Grand Haven many times. I figured it would take about 20 hours and as such the 1300 miles probably shouldn't have shocked me. The conclusion? I can't road trip it. Not in my 2005 Xterra at any rate. She's an old girl and I fear such a push might throw her over the edge. In her day, I'd have done it but I can't run the risk of losing her.
This means, if I'm to cover the distance, I'll have to fly. With the price of gas as it is, it's really not much more expensive than driving. And I don't have to 'waste' two full days in my car. I could feasibly go for a long weekend. If I had $500+ and/or a desire to create more debt for myself.
And this is why I think I'm a terrible friend. I'm almost debt-free. Almost. I've worked so hard to get here. The last thing I want to do is create more, especially when I'm a week away from a move and facing four months of pet deposit bills. The next few months are going to be rough regardless and I want to approach that time with as few bills as I can. Additionally, I don't have personal time so if I miss a day of work, I have to add that to the cost of airfare. I could feasibly go $1000 or more in the hole and it'd take me months to get back to good.
Then I ask myself - what's more important? Seeing a friend in her time of need or being debt-free? Because I'm still sitting in my office in Austin, I have no choice but to conclude that I'm a terrible friend. Yes, I'm sure my friend understands. The problem is that I don't understand. She would be here. She would. I know she would. So why I am not there?
I think I answered my own question.
I estimated the distance in my head. I've driven from Austin to Texarkana many times and from Texarkana to Grand Haven many times. I figured it would take about 20 hours and as such the 1300 miles probably shouldn't have shocked me. The conclusion? I can't road trip it. Not in my 2005 Xterra at any rate. She's an old girl and I fear such a push might throw her over the edge. In her day, I'd have done it but I can't run the risk of losing her.
This means, if I'm to cover the distance, I'll have to fly. With the price of gas as it is, it's really not much more expensive than driving. And I don't have to 'waste' two full days in my car. I could feasibly go for a long weekend. If I had $500+ and/or a desire to create more debt for myself.
And this is why I think I'm a terrible friend. I'm almost debt-free. Almost. I've worked so hard to get here. The last thing I want to do is create more, especially when I'm a week away from a move and facing four months of pet deposit bills. The next few months are going to be rough regardless and I want to approach that time with as few bills as I can. Additionally, I don't have personal time so if I miss a day of work, I have to add that to the cost of airfare. I could feasibly go $1000 or more in the hole and it'd take me months to get back to good.
Then I ask myself - what's more important? Seeing a friend in her time of need or being debt-free? Because I'm still sitting in my office in Austin, I have no choice but to conclude that I'm a terrible friend. Yes, I'm sure my friend understands. The problem is that I don't understand. She would be here. She would. I know she would. So why I am not there?
I think I answered my own question.
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