As many of you already know because I cannot stop talking about it, I am boarding a plane for a three-week adventure through Europe, departing on Monday, September 9th. Other than several vacations to Hawaii and one vacation to the U.S. Virgin Islands, I have never been off of this continent. That’s going to change in less than a week! Once I step foot outside of Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, it will be a dream come true because I have been dreaming about this trip almost every night in my sleep since I began my travel plans three short months ago. Of course, it doesn’t quite explain why I was traveling through China in one of my dreams, but perhaps that’s for a therapist to figure out!
I knew from the beginning that my boyfriend, Steve, wasn’t traveling with me. He and I have been the only local caregivers for his soon-to-be-96-year-old father, Murray. Although Murray is living in a retirement community, he is much too frail to be left alone for any length of time. So, after begging my family and girlfriends to join me, and soon realizing that I either had to become an official solo female traveler or not travel at all, I began planning. And planning. And planning.
As a designer, chef, and photographer, I have an eye for detail, but I have driven myself crazy because I broke the details down into micro details in the planning process. As an example, my luggage will consist of carry-on and day backpacks. (Visualize me looking like a burro.) Because I’m not checking my carry-on bag at the airport, only one quart-sized bag is allowed for liquids. Hey, no problem! I decided to put together a list of liquids that I will need and then I came up with a brainstorm to buy little leak-proof bottles with just enough to last me for three weeks. Here is a partial list:
- (2) 1/2 oz. bottles for eye makeup remover: (1) Oil-based remover and (1) water-based remover to remove the residue of the oil-based remover. Uh, do you see where I’m going with this???
- 1 oz. bottle for sunscreen
- 1/2 oz. bottle for hand sanitizer. I’m obviously not a germaphobe!
- 3 oz. bottle for shampoo
- 1/2 oz. bottle for cuticle oil. You only have to see my cuticles to know that I will give up toothpaste before I give up my cuticle oil…OK, it’s a slight exaggeration, but I’m trying to make a point.
- 1 oz. wide-mouth bottle for liquid foundation
- 3 oz. bottle for hand lotion
- 2 oz. pump bottle for hair spray. I’m already sure that’s not enough.
Now, those aren’t all of the liquids that I will be carrying on; they are only the bottles I needed to buy. Once I had my list together, it dawned on me that I still had enough time before my trip to TEST whether the amounts I was bringing would last me three weeks. And then to do it right, I decided to CALENDAR them all to make sure that I packed just enough so I would run out on exactly the last day of my trip. I could then fly home with a much lighter bag. WOO HOO…was I smart or what?!? My elation lasted until I accidentally knocked over one of my travel bottles halfway through my trial run. UGH! I was almost ready to shoot myself once I realized that I hadn’t allowed for spillage.
Who does that or, better yet, WHY was I doing that?!? And my micromanaging MYSELF didn’t stop there. (What do you gain when you micromanage yourself?) How about one Metro trip through Southern California after another to make sure that I knew how to travel from Point A to Point B, followed by a Metro AND Metrolink trip, only to be followed by an Amtrak trip! Seriously. How about buying only wrinkle-free, quick-drying clothing which meant that I would have to buy polyester, maybe with a touch of spandex for stretch. However, after testing my new wrinkle-free, quick-drying polyester-with-a-touch-of-spandex clothing, I quickly realized something: Have you ever smelled someone who has been wearing polyester all day??? YIKES…I had inadvertently turned into one of “those” people! Polyester be damned….I was now going to bring cotton clothing which would require me to bring yet another 3 oz. liquid bottle of Wrinkle Releaser!
Have you noticed that I haven’t mentioned anything about planning my itinerary? I could write a book about that process! And please don’t get me started on my endless run-ins with blisters on my feet!
I know I sound like I’m a bit neurotic (although I prefer the word “quirky”), and <gulp> I’m not saying that I’m NOT, mind you; I just want to have every detail covered. I told my friend, Ruth, that if she had only agreed to travel with me, I wouldn’t have turned into such a lunatic because it seems easier to be Ms. Johnny-on-the-Spot when you have a travel partner to help solve travel glitches.
However….
….even with all of my self-imposed crazy travel-planning behavior, this has truly been a labor of self-love. Guilty as charged! I already know that this will soon become the trip of MY lifetime. All of my planning, which might have initially been fraught with frustration, anxiety, and self-doubt, has turned into joy, happiness, and newfound inner strength somewhere along the way. I pray that you have experienced that same joy, happiness, and inner strength in your life.
I CANNOT WAIT TO BE ON THAT PLANE TO BEGIN MY ADVENTURE!!!
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