Yes, I am always paranoid that I forgot to pack somehting that I will need. I always put my airline tickets in my carry-on the night before. My worst nightmare is to get to the airport without my tickest.

Jibboo - do you worry about these things at home?

Most car accidents happen very close to home.

Do you have a sick old relative? Or do you mean someone getting food poisoning or SARS or something? The health of your family/friends can change anytime, not just when you are on vacation. You can get food poisioning anywhere. SARS - well, really, what would the odds be?

Your kitty - I have 2 cats, and when I travel I have a trusted friend take care of them. I miss them terribly, but I don't worry about them. Find someone you can trust.

Take Gekko's words to heart. Another of my favorites, which I believe is an AA theme (no personal experience, though ):

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

The things you are worrying about you can't control, so you are just adding unnecessary stress to your life.

Having said that - have a great vacation next week!

Tansy, you ask who said:

"Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? . . . Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself."

Answer: Jesus, in the book of Matthew.

So it has a name! Does anyone else clean house like a crazy person just before leaving? Everything has to be spotless: closets neat, refrigerator cleaned, all furniture dusted and vacuum last thing the evening before departure and gawd help anyone in my family who unwittingly messed up my handiwork before our departure. I KNOW it's irrational. I KNOW the furniture will just have to be dusted once we get back, but that doesn't stop it. The family learned it was best to be silent than to try to fight it.

Now, sadly, I've passed this trait on. Our daughter, now grown, who when she was young was aggravated as much as anyone by this behavior, does exactly the same thing.

As far as I can figure the irrational rational behind this was "What if anything happened to us", I sure wouldn't want anyone coming in and seeing the house "untidy"! lol (Like I'd care dead?) But I never leave anticipating that anything WILL happen to us. Really. Or I don't think so? My this couch is hard.

Actually this behavior has improved in recent years, and I've analyzed that. I think it MAY be because we have a housekeeper now, so if the house isn't spotless....it really doesn't reflect on me because I'm not the one cleaning it. Oh lawsy...help me back to the couch.

Well, I don't THINK I consciously worry before travelling (having that Matthew quote in mind) -- but I do procrastinate about packing. The actual loading stuff into suitcases part. Result of that is often getting to bed so late that it's more nap than sleep if we're up at 4 or 5 for an early flight. (Or maybe that's just my coping mechanism.)

I resolved the clean house conundrum by having my cleaning lady come the day of our return, instead of her regular bi-weekly visit. That way, everything is tidy and fresh when we walk in the door. And that's a Very Good Thing.(Olive Oyl, I recommend that solution!)

I love this thread!! And the number of responses so quickly tells me ... I'm not alone!

I always have the pre-travel anxiety and have come to expect and accept it ... disappears as soon as we actually start the trip! Then I feel, what was the big deal?

Olive Oyl~YES! I do make sure the house is clean clean clean before I go away~
If I were to return from a trip, to a dark and dusty house, it would be the ultimate in depression.
I am agonizing now over Three!! trips being planned simultaneously, talk about panic!!
I keep going over the reservations and dates, for fear I have scrambled them !
Then there are the restaurants to reserve, the clothes to figure out, will Pup really be happy with me gone that long???
Jibboo..welcome to the Panic Club

Scarlett, send Pup to Aunt Olive. She will pamper him mercilessly. Pack his tiarra. Simultaneously planning 3 (!) trips is cause for panic in itself. What time frame?

I'm vascillating now on Seattle/Pacific NW...maybe Nova Scotia, PEI would be just as good, heck even better! ....Is this just another form of pre-travel panic? "Can I pick the PERFECT destination for us??" Lacking assurance of perfection, there's a better than even chance it never gets done. I've got to jump start myself on this!!

Travelpro,
I'm the same way--leaving my kids at home when traveling shoots the anxiety factor ski high. It's so much better when they're along. I never worried about travel before 9/11--now Xanax is my plane travel friend--it just takes the edge off and it's better than having my kids see Mommy down tiny bottles of scotch on the flight (just a joke, Kobe).

The only thing I worry about is whether I will over-sleep when I have to get up early. As far as everything else, I'm pretty much organized & prepared. For things that could go wrong DURING my trip, I just look at it as new adventures.

Oh - I do put on clean, new underwear - you never know if you might be hit by a truck & end up in the hospital! <g>

Gekko -- thanks for the info on the quote.

Jesus, huh? You know, he's good people.