Although it seems ridiculously late for this, and if you are reading this, you are probably questioning our sanity, but we finally sat down last night with a calendar and loosely mapped out the next three months. And I do mean loosely. As in, on July 29 we will leave PEI. One week later we will arrive in Florida. Two days later we will fly to some unknown destination in Central America…..all culminating in flying to England on October 4. But at least it’s something!
In a way, this does make me feel a little better, because it’s the beginnings of an actual plan, but on the other hand, it makes me panic, because how is it that we have known about this trip for 4 years and one month before we leave, all we have is a loose plan for the first 3 months? Another thing that makes me somewhat anxious is the fact that although we do have this calendar, we have no flights booked, no accommodation booked – nothing booked. I think I need to book something. Yes, that’s what I need to do. Tomorrow, I will book a flight, or a hotel, or something…
How does this happen? How do we wait until the very last moment to do stuff? There are theories out there that would suggest we are actually creating chaos in our lives because we LIKE it. Can this be true? Evidence would certainly suggest that this may be the case. But I still refuse to believe it. Surely, this state of panicked existence can’t be what I strive for? Surely not.
I remember last summer, feeling like I needed to do some serious planning, and then I got all anxious and decided to give myself permission to wait. Then I felt better. Now I don’t.
OK. It’s OK. It will all be OK. I just need to do something concrete and then I will feel better. I think I need some SMART goals! By the end of this weekend I will have booked at least one flight (possibly two), and I will have more destinations on the calendar. I will have decided which Central American destination we will fly to initially. I will also have called someone to find out what inoculations we need to travel there.
Ahh, I just noticed that I am perpetuating one of the problems which leads to my panic. I’m issuing a correction. WE. We will complete these SMART goals by the end of this weekend. I am owning this and it’s not mine, it’s OURS.
It WILL be ok. Planning should be fun. And it WILL be fun. Fun weekend of planning, here WE come!
Roadschooling Claytons 