Ready, Set . . .

The day has finally arrived—the day of our departure for the British Isles.  After a year and a half of planning, today’s the day we leave.  At 1:00 pm, we get on a bus that will take us to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, followed by a seven-hour flight to Dublin, then a one-hour one to Manchester, UK.  By Saturday night, we’ll be in the Lake District!

Our three children came over for dinner last night so that we could describe our trip in greater detail and give them final instructions.  As much as we don’t want to think about it, it’s important for them to know where to find our wills and a list of our assets and debts.  Someone needs to know when the plants should be watered and how to get in touch with us if need arises.

One of the problems with a long-anticipated trip such as this is the anticipation itself.  The traveler can be filled with such a sense of expectation that they miss out on the actual thing.  Or, the contrast between their expectations and the reality can lead to real disappointment.  The trick is to truly be “in the moment,” to experience the world as it is, rather than as we’ve imagined it to be.  England, after all, isn’t a museum but a place where real people live—people with jobs and homes, with parents and children, with hopes and dreams, with attitudes and opinions.  There’ll be the cathedrals and castles and sites of ancient battles to see, to be sure.  But there’ll also be the shopkeeper and bartender, the person in the checkout line ahead of us and the family at the next table.  They might truly be the most interesting part of our trip.

Now, “the final breath before the plunge.”   I need to change the furnace filter and clean the rain gutters.  The laptop on which I’m writing these reflections needs to go into my backpack, the power cords into my suitcase.  Passport, credit cards, cash, Sudoku book, magazine, trip itinerary, and a notebook to record my reflections are all packed.  It looks like we’re ready to go!