FauxSteMarie

Faux does faux sure, but, of course, Faux goes anyway.

It used to be a lot worse when the kids were petit and renting a beach house for a week or two involved packing the station wagon with a case of Pampers, portacrib, etc. It felt more like climbing Mount Everest than a vacation!

Scarlett

LOL suze, "extraordinary concern over wardrobe" So true!! although mine tends toward concern over shoes~

MzPossum

Scarlett, I know what you mean about shoes. At this moment I'm thinking, "hmm, 2 pairs of sandals that are comfortable for walking, but what if it's cool, socks with sandals? One pair of closed toed shoes but the ones that will go with what I'm bringing and I can wear socks with aren't the most comfortable......hmmmm (limited packing space!)

P_M

If I go away for a long weekend I'm OK, but if I'm planning a trip lasting more than 4 days, I will start having panic attacks about a week in advance. This Friday I will be going on a 10-day trip starting in Las Vegas, then on to LA to take a cruise. The panic is just now setting in. As you mentioned, I always worry about leaving my dog. Although she will be staying with responsible friends, I have no control over what happens to her when I'm away, so I panic. Also, what if something happens to the house? I know this is crazy and I keep telling myself that, but I do have a lot of sleepless nights within a few days of travelling. My husband is just as bad as me, so there's nobody to comfort me in my time of panic. Thanks for this post, I thought I was nuts.

grilledsardine

i get a little panicky about the flight, but other than that no, i don't panic. i just get excited. if i'm away too long i can start to get a panicky feeling that there's stuff at home that needs to get done, but then i usually get home and everything's fine. it's all in our heads.

SuzieC

I suppose I get "excited and anxious", and the what-if's hit...but on the way to the airport to go, there is an overwhelming, "well, its too late to turn back now!" and I'm fine from then on.
But oh my, to be "gone too long"... I would like to know how that feels.
The problem is the time warp, "time flies when you're having fun" and at work it drags mercilessly

Robin_hood

Hey Fellow Fodorites!

Glad to see I am not alone! I have spent hours upon hours planning our trip to England for our 25th Wedding Anniversary...it seemed wonderful at the time but with 10 days to go before leaving I am having the jitters. We went last week and updated our wills (the biggie...what poor souls will get our children if something were to happen to us????) Yes, well the decision has been made and long overdue I must admit..so hubby and I are off to Europe for a long overdue holiday alone, without the kids...oouch! I'm sure it will only take us a couple of hours to get used to the fact that the kids aren't there...lol!

Ivy have a wonderful trip...I know you will!

Ps one thing I did do was check my insurance policies and upgraded. Silly Me, I know!!! Robin

Ivy

Ira: Yes, all is forgiven, no worries!

Thanks to everyone for posting, so nice to know so many others have the same feelings! I leave tomorrow! yikes!

mamc

I seldom have last minute panic but I have a recurring dream that I am at the airport and have everything except my passport. And I don't have time to return home for it. The dream occurs more frequently as a trip approaches. Needless to say, whatever else I may forget, I never forget my passport

beth23

I'm glad I am not the only one. Two of the reasons I do this: 1. Will this long-awaited and planned-down-to-the-last-detail trip live up to my expecations?, 2. Change is always hard for me, even good changes. One you are there I am sure you'll have a wonderful time!

elle

Dear, dear Ivy--I could have written your post (except for the part about leaving for Italy tomorrow, 'cause I'm not ).

I worry so much about the critters, but before I go, I leave very specific information with a number of friends as to how they should be re-homed if anything happens to me. They may think I'm crazy, but I feel better knowing I have done this. Then again, most of them are animal people and they do exactly the same thing!

I just left a meeting where one of my colleagues was relating information about a young woman she knows whose father has a dreadful brain tumor and very grim prognosis. This young woman took ill this weekend--turns out she has a brain tumor that's even larger and more poorly positioned than her father's. She's in surgery right now. She was at work on Friday.

So live each day, take control and be prepared, but enjoy your trip, enjoy those who love you and those whom you love (and be especially thankful if those two groups are identical), have a terrific time and come back here and tell us all about it--but not until after you've hugged your sweet doggy over and over again.

P_M

Elle, my heart breaks for your friend, as I had a tumor in 1995. My prognosis was a lot better than what you mentioned and I am OK now, but such surgery is terrifying. I told myself and God that I would do 2 things should I survive: 1. I will never complain about side effects from the surgery (thankfully there weren't any except a slight hearing loss) and 2. I would travel my butt off!! So if you have a special trip in mind, take it NOW because tomorrow is never a sure thing.

Ivy

The passport dream! MAMC: I have had that one too! starts about a week before the trip. How funny. Elle: So sorry to hear about your friend. Hope that all works out OK. Puts things in perspective! I also do the same things with my friends regarding my dog, I send them all emails telling them who gets custody etc. . . they think I am nuts but it does make me feel better!

elle

Just to clarify--I don't know the woman who is ill; she is a friend of my co-worker.

P_M: glad to hear you have recovered. I'm sorry that you had to go through such a thing, but it sounds like you have your priorities in order.

luna

Variation on the passport dream: I'm leaving on a trip in X minutes, and NOTHING IS PACKED! I find my packing list, but nothing is where it should be - and the flight departure time is fast approaching. I have this dream, not only when anticipating travel, but any time I'm under stress. Needless to say, I'm a pack-the-day-before-from-a-list person.

P_M

Thanks, elle. In re-evaluating the situation, I really should laugh at myself. After going through all that trauma, it seems rather silly of me to panic about going on vacation. The panic of getting a diagnosis like that is so much worse than "vacation panic." When we put this into perspective, I think vacation panic is actually not so bad. It's good to be reminded once in a while about what's most important in life, what's really worth panicking over and what's not. I will hope and pray for the best for the lady and her father who are ill.

FauxSteMarie

Faux is not a very organized packer. In fact she can be very disorganized. There was the infamous expedition where she arrived at the airport in a rush because her flight had been moved back. Unfortunately, she had to go the next day. One of the passports had been accidentally left at home.

Then there was the trip where she opened her suitcase and NO underpants. Well, it was another excuse to go shopping, but for underpants? In a country where you don't know the word for what you want? I wondered around in a department store in Hamburg and eventually located what I needed. I also never forgot the German word for "underpants".

jarmnm

I too, hope the young woman you mentioned gets better and lives life to it's fullest. About 7 years ago I was diagnosed with what might have been uterine cancer (I was very lucky it wasn't, I'm just a lumpy bumpy person!) and I realized that I had made too many excuses instead of doing the things I wanted to do. I made four goals, 1) to finish grad school (I did!) 2)to see about having children (we just have had two special needs children place with us) 3)To go to England (we spent our 15th anniversary there about 5 years ago and are going to celebrate our 20th this July) and 4) to let my DH know what a DH he really is! Life has expanded in many ways, I still get jittery about travel preparations, but we go, we have a great time and we appreaciate that life is good! Have a great trip!

Julie

elle

So what is the German word for "underpants"?

I'm thinking that Ivy should learn it, and then when she gets nervous or anxious she should repeat it over and over again as a talisman or something like that. . .

Ivy

Oh I like that idea! SO what is it?? "unter. . . " something?