I love this, Gali. I believe in animals as spiritual teachers and when I choose to listen to them they often have meaningful lessons to share with me.

On my 40th birthday, I killed my first bird--it flew into my windshield as I drove to work. I love birds and it was startling and sad. I also ran over my first ever squirrel that year and felt very sad.

I'm not sure what I think about that--perhaps we are at a point where we learn acceptance of life and death--that we are both predator and prey, even as the "enlightened" species << you might be able to tell by my quotes I call bullshit on that.

I'm glad your tests and flights went well. Enjoy your trip!