Leaving on a Jet Plane...

This week I'm getting on a plane and flying half way around the world. The places and sights I'll see will be exciting, but the greatest thing about this trip is that I'm going to see someone I love very much and haven't seen for a little over a year. There have been times when there has been that much time between visits, but they have been while he was living in this country and I could pick up the phone pretty much anytime I wanted and talk to him. Now that he is living in another country, and the only contact I have is sporatic e-mail, a year really seems much longer than a year. I can't tell you how excited I am to be going to see him!

Usually when I go on a trip I have all the details figured out ahead of time and reservations made for lodging. On this trip, when I have asked him about specific plans, schedule, places to stay, etc...his answer is always the same..."don't worry, we'll figure it out." Since I will be in a country where I don't speak the language, or understand the customs, I will have to rely completely on him for everything. How comforting it is for me to know he speaks the native language, and has been living there for awhile and knows the customs. I know that on this trip I will not experience many of the creature comforts I have grown so accustomed to living in this country.

At this point, packing is a challenge. We will be there for 23 days, and I have no idea what kind of access to laundry facilities, etc I will have. Since we're going to tour all around, I don't know if we will be taking our suitcases everywhere or be able to leave them someplace. I have packed for many trips over the years, and always come back with clothes I never wore or needed. The last trip I took a couple of months ago, was the first trip I ever went on where I actually wore and needed everything I took. What a wonderful feeling that was! I want to do the same thing on this trip, although it is a much longer trip. As I read this blog, I think to myself...lighten up, and just go with the flow". That's what I alway did in my younger days. In days past, plans always seemed to be restrictive, and the thought of being spontaneous was exhilirating. I wonder if the challenge of just going with the flow is a sign of old age. I hope not, because by the numbers, I may be older, but in my heart, I always feel like Eloise, the precocious child who lived in the hotel in New York and had many wonderful adventures. Everyday was one new adventure after another!

One of the things I want to do while I am gone is to keep people updated with things we' re doing and what we're seeing. I will have help so hopefully will be able to post a picture or two on my blog.

One of the hardest things for me these last couple of weeks as I've gotten ready for the trip is to live each day to the fullest without just wanting to fast forward to the departure date. As I think on life, that is really a challenge that we have to deal with much of the time. Often we have something that we are excited about coming up in the future, and we think "I'll just get through these days until...whatever the thing you are excited about comes around." Almost like being on auto-pilot, just waiting for the days to pass. Reality is that God has an adventure for us each day, and how many times we miss it because we are focused on the next big thing coming down the pike. I choose to live each day to the fullest and experience everything God has for me until the day we take off. That has to be a decision, and not just a matter of whim. I remember my Mom telling me many years ago, that happiness was not a destination, but a means of travel.

This will probably be my last post until we arrive at our destination.

Talk to you later,

Musing Mom