Nervous/Excited/Busy/Nervous/Excited/Busy

---

I concur with everything Norris wrote in the last update & will add some Amanda perspective.

I am so very nervous about being so far away from our 4 year old! I know it will be fine but I'm still anxious. A little backstory on why I get so nervous; when he was 16 months old Norris & I went with my cousin Nick on a 4 night trip to Burlington, VT & Montreal, QC. It was our first trip away from him. My mom came to our house to take care of him & while she was here she got sick. So, I was in our hotel at 7am on Saturday morning feeling extremely far away in Canada trying to rally the troops to get her & my little guy taken care of! After that we didn't leave him again until he was 3. Last fall we went to Charleston, SC for 3 nights & he stayed with Norris' dad. Except for Denver wearing Pawpaw out it went fine. Since we moved back to North Carolina he's had sleepovers with Nana & Pawpaw & I've been able to relax a little more about being away from him. It also doesn't hurt that he is older, mature for his age & will tell us everything that happened while we were gone!

But, I still remember how scary & awful it felt to be so far away from my baby & not be able to take care of him myself; so that's why while I am very excited for our trip I am very nervous about being so far away from my little guy. It's one feeling to be across town or a few hours away & quite another to be across the ocean.

Norris & I have precious little time with each other one on one with no interruptions or things to check off the to do list. I know that's the norm for people with kids but in 4 years a total of 6 overnights alone doesn't amount to much. While we lived in Nashville the first year we had no babysitter & the second year we had about 6 or 7 date nights. So, we're sort of starved for conversation time that doesn't include getting interrupted by a half dressed preschooler in a viking hat screaming "hey guys!" while beating on a drum. Or conversation that doesn't just involve comparing work/school/personal calendars, reminders about doctors appointments, workplace drama or that we need to cut grass, do laundry, etc.

The thought of sitting & talking about politics, books, goals & our lives in general and catching up with each other while walking the streets of these amazing, historical, gorgeous places...that's what helps me calm my nerves! You mean I'll get to actually have my husband all to myself without his work calling every 8 minutes, a preschooler interrupting every 30 seconds or being so exhausted I just want to collapse in bed? SIGN ME UP! Like, yesterday.

My husband is also my best friend & traveling with him is absolutely my favorite thing to do. He is my most ideal travel companion because we love to really appreciate where we are & relax & have fun too. Going to London & Paris you can have a great time just wandering around sure, but Norris is like me in that he wants to know why that cathedral is so gorgeous, the year it was built & why it has such historical significance. To fully appreciate the nuances of French wine, how it's similar & different to Italian or California vineyards & not just "get a buzz." To want to learn about, see & try to live as "local" as possible while you're somewhere so you don't just see the main drag tourist stuff, you really learn about the place.

It's only through experiencing as much of the world & appreciating the difference & uniqueness of humanity do we fully live our own lives. How can you form opinions on life without as much information as possible? How can you claim to know the answers without always being open to new information? That's what travel is to me; it's experiencing life, seeing things from a different perspective & striving for a greater understanding; not just staring at the scenery (even though that can be pretty cool too!)

These are the reasons traveling is important to us. These are also the reasons we rarely go to the movies, I have a cheap old cellphone, I cook at home for us 99% of the time, I never buy anything unless it's on sale, we live in a smaller house & drive cars that will last 250,000+ miles. Travel is something very important, very soul fulfilling. It comes just after roof over our heads & our son's education.

The busy part - whew. Getting the house cleaned & stocked up, making copies of our passports in case they are lost or stolen, providing phone numbers, information, health insurance card, getting temporary Medical Power of Attorney forms notarized & all sorts of other things to take care of Denver while we're gone, picking up travel necessities like little bottles to put shampoo & face wash in so we're not spending $175+ on baggage fees, shopping for pants for my husband because he's so busy with work he can't go himself, get a flu shot, remind Norris to get a flu shot, make sure the proper people still have their copies of our wills, get the dog his rabies booster because it expired in July & life just keeps getting in the way but because I have the worst luck ever he would get bitten by a racoon or something while we're gone if I don't get it done! Seriously, the list goes on FOREVER. Now I'm tired just thinking about it & 3/4's of the stuff I've already done.

But, it will all be worth it when we hit that USAirways private lounge after getting through security & wait to board our flight!


Cheers! (I'm practicing.)

-Amanda

---