I enjoy traveling. I enjoy spending time with people I know. I enjoy seeing different places. And so I make plans and I get out and go. I am Chicago as this posts.
Doc Spo lamented recently that a friend was in town to close out some business and he feared it might be the last time they meet for lunch as the friend will have little reason to return the Valley of the Sun, once this business is concluded. My comment, was "make reservations, go to the airport, and go." Don't wait for others to come see you, get out and go see them. This is often a one way street, I go to Florida to see my brothers or my one and only first cousin, but they have never come the other way to visit me. If I don't go, the next time we "see" one another with be at a funeral with one of us being the guest of honor.
If you are physically, mentally and fiscally able to travel, get out and go.
Travel is a great privilege. Most people alive today will never fly on an airliner. Many will never leave the country or state they are born in. Less than 1% of the population will ever travel on a cruise ship. We learn so much and see so many interesting people when we travel. Don't fear it, just get out and go.
I will never understand people who sit in a window seat on an airliner, and close the shade. The awe and wonder is outside the window, not on their phone, or in their book.
I will work on a list of ideas to reduce the stress of travel.
The first time my brother flew anywhere was a family trip to Amsterdam (and driving to points beyond). He LOVED flying but had never experienced jet lag. He was miserable the second day and told me “We should have stayed on the plane!”
ReplyDeleteEven the one hour difference to Chicago, leaves me thinking, why isn't this meeting over it is so late.
DeleteI do (and have always done) a lot of the kind of "one way" traveling you describe to visit friends and family. And spent a fortune doing so, quite frankly, but that's the cost of maintaining relationships, especially family ties. I do tend to do it only for close family members, though, not extended ones.
ReplyDeleteIn part because of Covid, I have not gone to visit family in Florida in 7 years
DeleteI enjoy traveling [because I love coming home] but you're right about people who don't. My brother doesn't ever travel and when my sister was alive she didn't do much either and so the only times we saw one another was when I went to them.
ReplyDeleteSome are financially unable, others are stubborn
DeleteThis made me smile! I'm actually making plans for a trip to Chicago myself.
ReplyDeleteChicago has been wonderful this week, even if I had 6 meetings in 4 days
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