Time to go!

My stomach has been in knots for four days. We leave in three hours. I wonder if nervous-ness burns more calories? That would be a good thing.

The packing has been done. We have weighed everything to make sure it doesn't violate IcelandAir's rather strict weight requirements. We have snacks, books, iPods, notebooks & pencils, passports, e-tickets, etc. We have clothes, swimsuits, laundry soap, shampoo, prescriptions, sunscreen, band aids and body-care items. We have enough chargers, cables, adapters and other electronics that I'm sure it will look like a bomb under the security x-ray machine. And it is always entertaining to see the reaction on the face of the screener when my pocket trumpet comes into view (for you non-musicians, it's a real trumpet scrunched into about 1/3rd the standard size - It's named "Avalon" and goes on adventures with us).

At night, when I am trying to drift off to sleep I imagine how nice it would be to only have to think of myself packing for a trip. I imagine getting a phone call from a friend in a far away place saying; "Dude, you gotta see this!" and packing my bag and being out the door in about five minutes. Now it takes a couple of pretty tense hours - hoping we don't discover that all the stuff we have piled on the dining room table, in fact, DOESN'T fit into our bags!

Of course, even if it does all fit, there is the torture of wondering what you are going to forget. You know there will be something. The real question is, will it be something important or even (God forbid) critical. Of course, most things forgotten can be dealt with by simply buying it over there. But that is always a bit of a hassle and you still kick yourself for having forgotten it.

By now, however, everyone is pretty well into a packing routine. The children know what to expect. They pretty much choose their own clothes (but we double-check) and they choose what else is important to bring to keep themselves occupied. Best of all, they know to pack lightly.

We have endured the crazy ups and downs of the Euro exchange rate over the last several months - now down a bit after some record highs & still might save us some money over our projected budget from six months ago (who would have ever thought I would now be monitoring currency exchange rates almost daily five years ago?). We have endured the uncertainty caused by the belching ash from the Icelandic volcano with the unpronounceable name. And we have endured almost 8 months of wondering what unforeseen family crisis or bodily injury might cause us to have to cancel our travel plans. I'm a firm believer that if you imagine the worst, it will rarely actually happen. So I have been doing my best to imagine the worst (pretty twisted logic, isn't it).

Once we get the call to board the plane, some weight lifts from my shoulders, though. I will still fret over things. But I will also be somewhat comforted by the knowledge that much of what happens from that point on is beyond my control. Our main job from that point on is to make the best of whatever happens. Wish us luck...