Over the last week or so, I have begun working on building up the things I want to take to India with us. I find myself thinking of things in the middle of the night and having to fight the urge to jump out of bed and write down something that I'm "just sure we'll forget." Now, honestly, I am a bit notorious for going on vacation without the things I MUST have. For example, we went to White Lake a few summers ago for 8 days and I brought not a single pair of underwear with me. Funny now. Not funny then. Thankfully, the lake is only about 1 1/2 hours from home so we were able to run back and get them. India is not 1 1/2 hours from home. If I forget underwear, I will not be able to come home and get them.
At the heart of this mania, I think, is the feeling of loss of control. I am kind of a control freak and have the urge to plan and supervise everything. That's not a bad trait - unless you're dealing with infertility, travel visa requirements that force you to mail away your passports, FMLA forms filled in by nosy nurses, and long-term subs who announce their presence in the carpool lane (where totally clueless 3rd grade teachers start giving you the eye). Suddenly, everything is out of your hands and nothing can be guaranteed anymore. I'm no psychiatrist, but I know that I am not really losing sleep over what to pack.
But, since there is no other thing that I can grasp for control over, I guess I will continue to obsess over the packing. A little tablet and pen sit by the bedside, and there is a drawer in the bathroom with travel supplies amassing. I have ordered new luggage - ours lived a long, exciting, and valiant life until it hit on the beaches of Belize. It was way cool to find the new set $60 cheaper on Amazon.com than Overstock.com. I will begin tossing things into a suitcase this week when they arrive and turn a bedroom into a travel center. Everything I suspect I may need can live there while time passes v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y until the end of November.
W-a-i-t-i-n-g s-t-i-n-k-s-!-!-!
