#20: Axe Drop #0020 Title: BITTERSWEET MILES

Today I’m flying home. Not for a celebration. Not for something easy. I’m flying home for my stepdad’s memorial on Saturday. That makes this one of those bittersweet trips. You look out the window. You sit with your thoughts. You feel the weight before your boots even hit the ground. Because going home for something like this is different. It is love. It is loss. It is memory. It is pain. All at the same time. Part of you is thankful you get to be there. Part of you hates why you have to. That is the part people do not talk about enough. Grief does not move clean. It does not show up polite. It does not wait until you are ready. It just hits. In the airport. On the plane. In the silence. In the memories. But showing up matters. Even when your chest feels heavy. Even when your mind is running. Even when part of you wants to shut it all off. You still go. You still stand tall. You still honor the people who mattered. That is strength. Not pretending it does not hurt. But carrying it anyway. So today, I ride with the weight. Saturday, I stand with the memory. And through all of it, I remember this: love does not leave just because someone did. “Built in silence. Forged for riders.” -Axe🪓 Founder RavenAxe