The Joys of Flying Away

It's the final countdown for my incredible journey or amazing race or whatever it is I'm going on.  The last minute details  are popping up, but I'm knockin' 'em down, with massive help from my friends and family.  This is one of those times when the downside of having lots of animals becomes very readily apparent.  I'll miss them lots, probably about a week in.  I'm a little nervous about how they'll get by without mommy to love them, but that worry is starting to be overshadowed with push-pull.  The push is that they'll be in good hands.  The pull is that my focus is now on flying with everything we'll need.

Ah, travel.  This is one of those times when my nerves start to tingle and my palms start to sweat.  I'm not a regular flier, which my DH takes delight in by teasing me (to keep me laughing, I think.)  Every time I drive by the airport now, I get flutterbelly.  It's not just being up in the air.  It's knowing that if I've forgotten something, things can get really hellish really fast.  Passports.  Tickets.  Boarding passes.  Luggage.  Money.  Having to run in an unfamiliar airport if our flights don't match up just so due to weather conditions or problems on the runway or a flight check that doesn't clear.  I don't mind waiting, even for a very long time.  I mind missing a flight.

I will post pictures and stuff, maybe while I'm there, maybe not until I get back.  Which reminds me of another set of details that make my head hurt.  The amount of electronics I pack these days is weird.  Laptop.  Digital camera.  Cellphone.  Ipod shuffle.  And they all have different power requirements.  And converters, of course.  Remember back in the day when all you brought was a camera and some film?  I'd sigh wistfully, but you know, I remember that I could handle only so much reading while I flew, and that making phone calls home was a challenge to say the least.  Operator, can you get me someone who speaks English or who can understand my broken Czech?

No stress, deep breaths, this is fun, we want to do this, remember?

[palms still sweating]