Departure Day

Our bags are packed.  The passports are on the counter.  I'm now wearing a plain gold band in place of my diamond.  It felt like this day would never come! 

There are so many thoughts swimming through my head, aside from the obvious anticipation for the trip itself.  I'm thinking of the goodbyes that have to be said (we've already said a couple "big" goodbyes & there hasn't been any crying yet, knock on wood).  I'm running through our packing list - but honestly, if we forget something, we'll buy it abroad.  I'm calculating the number of hours (about 20) we'll likely be awake before we can sleep on our flight.  I'm even pondering the future of our respective careers...

I'm wondering whether this journey will change us?  If so, in what way?  I'm following a travel blog in which a husband & wife team are preparing to leave on their own round-the-world trip.  His biggest worry is that nothing will change.  I can understand that fear.  Because if we just wanted to see a few sights, buy a couple souvenirs and relax pool-side, we would have booked a 2 week vacay at an all-inclusive resort.

Of course, that's not to say that we're adverse to cold drinks with little umbrellas in them (hold the ice cubes, please!), pleasant hours spent in the company of an engrossing novel (Sue), exploring a coral reef teeming with marine life (Aron).