Getting Ready to Go

Vacation time is almost here! On Sunday we leave for Yellowstone National Park. Vacations are for having a change from routine, for doing something different, for relaxing and refreshing both mind and body.

This is me last year at the overlook of the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone Canyon.

So. . .to be ready for all those good things, there is a stressful time of trying to get everything ready for an extended time away from home.

The hardest parts of getting ready fall upon my daughter and son-in-law. They have busy lives anyway, and getting ready to go adds shopping, vehicle preparation, arranging for pet and yard care, getting their family's clothes and miscellaneous items organized and packed, and, for Anne Marie, baking her special Oatmeal-Mixed Fruit Cookies. They are high nutrition, delicious, and much better than all those food bars or trail mixes on the market.

Getting ready is, for me, less complicated and stressful. I only have to get myself ready. My days of having to organize everything for a family are past. I just need to get my laundry done and packed. For going to Yellowstone my wardrobe is very simple--jeans and t-shirts. Add undergarments, something to sleep in, shoes and a jacket, and that's it. The most complicated items to organize and pack are all the extras--think everything you use on a daily basis in getting ready for your day, plus things like reading material, cameras (and their chargers, download cords, and cases), laptop computer, binoculars, shoes, and so forth. All of a sudden the easy packing of simple clothing balloons! Still, pretty simple compared to getting a family ready to go on the road.

I like to leave my house reasonably clean, so it is pleasant to come home to. Part of the pleasure of a vacation is coming home to my own place and my own bed again! We have a good neighbor who will keep the flowers watered, so my deck garden will be OK while I am gone.

It's funny, but the closer it gets to time to go the more reluctant I become to leave my familiar place and routine. It doesn't matter how much I may have looked forward to going somewhere, when it is almost time to go I start feeling like I'd rather stay home.

Then, as soon as we are out of town, all that rolls away. I feel free. No pressure. Looking forward. On vacation!