Pre-travel jitters

Did you ever wish you could fly?  That you had a magic carpet that could mysteriously move you across oceans on a wave of pure joy? I have often wished that I could be magically moved from place to place in the blink of an eye, completely painlessly and exactly when and where I wanted it to happen.

On Friday I fly to America (again) and I can feel the pre-travel anxiety starting to build in me. Until this morning I was able to tell myself that the packing was a breeze, the on-line check-in, the collecting of documents, the accumulation of plugs, wires, adaptors, chargers and assorted technology was easy. Then I came totally and completely unglued.

I needed to find the unlocked mobile phone that works in the US.  Then I needed to find the American pre-paid phone card to put into the phone.  So far, so good.  And then the gods of travel panic struck with a vengeance.  Where was the phone charger?  Well, where? Good question, I thought. I searched in one bedroom, in another bedroom, on bookshelves, in kitchen drawers, in old travel bags, under beds, in the living room, under furniture, in the bathroom..I found six different phone chargers, the shaver charger, the camera charger, the computer charger, the red sock I lost about a year ago and the slipper I haven't been able to find for ages, but no phone charger and then, I just crumbled.  I burst into tears.

"I can't do this. I am totally disorganised.  I have to work tomorrow.  I have to leave the house at 5.30 in the morning on Friday to catch my plane.  I'm not packed.  I don't even have an idea of what to take".  When I looked at my clothes I realised they are all black.  Not exactly perfect for Florida. Maybe I can be the only elderly overweight goth in West Palm Beach?  I can't show up to  visit my dad in his nursing home in all black, they'll think I'm with the local undertakers.

The phone rang.  It was Ralph.  He caught me mid-sob and all I could do was cry and say "come  home, please".  And then I sat down and gave up.  That's it. The gods of travel panic win.  I surrender.  I wave the white flag, or more likely black, unironed flag.  And then I turned around, looked in a small carrier bag and just like that, there was the phone charger.

And just like that, my mood changed. I calmed down, felt really quite embarrassed and started to breathe again. I poured myself a huge glass of diet coke (my drug of choice) and started to think more clearly.  I realised that whatever clothes I take will be fine and I have all the things I need ready to throw into a suitcase.  Ralph will drop me at the station on Friday morning and I can relax and let the process take me with it. 

I not only wish I had a magic carpet.  I also wish I has a gang of little elves to run around and do all the last minute things for me.  Someday I will travel in complete calm.  I will sail through all preparation and feel relaxed, happy and centred. Someday I may also become enlightened.  If I was a betting person, I'd put my money on enlightenment.  Travel is much harder.