Pre-Departure Pandemonium

It’s now two weeks to go till we depart. After planning for our overseas adventure, it’s hard to believe that it’s now just around the corner. As excited as I’ve been, I’m a bit overcome with anxiety thinking about all the things we need to accomplish before we leave.

Contrary to what others might think, my days off since quitting my job have been anything but carefree. I don’t spend my days twiddling my thumbs nor have I turned into a bombon-eating housewife. What I am doing is drowning in a seemingly endless pool of to do lists. You know when you try calling the cable guy and you end up dialing a million different 800 numbers, wait on hold for umpteen minutes and repeatedly get disconnected until you finally get the chance to speak to a human being whose English is as good as your Sanskirt…welcome to my life.

My new nine to five job consists of trying to reach airlines, doctors, insurance companies, travel clinics and an array of customer service dimwits. I’ve argued in circles with movers, cell phone companies, storage facilities and bank tellers. I’ve been poked and prodded by nurses and doctors and could now run a black market pharmacy from all the pills I’ve accumulated in my top drawer. I’m a regular at Target and WalMart, and the Container Store and REI are fighting over the coveted top spot on my list of most-visited Web sites.

I’m not quite sure how we’ll get all we need to accomplish finished in the next ten days, but I can say when our bags are tightly packed and we’re on that flight headed to the Southern Hemisphere, we’ll be breathing a great sigh of relief, knowing that the adventure has finally begun and we can sit back and enjoy the ride.