Pre-travel jitters

Today I fly from Hartford to LA. After a few days there, I'll fly to Miami, then to Quito, Ecuador, and then spend a week in the Galapagos Islands. After that, I'll spend a week in Peru, visiting Machu Picchu and other Incan sites. It's the first vacation I would have picked, given the choice to visit anywhere in the world.

I've been preparing for the trip for a while. A week or so ago, I made a packing list. A month ago, I made a list of everything I needed to do before I left, including make a packing list. I didn't get it all done. I've been having trouble focusing because I keep thinking of things to add to a list.

When I was about 9 years old I was invited to a professional baseball game. Not being a baseball fan, I worried that I would get bored. So I brought a book. I also brought a bag full of yarn for making koosh balls. (Remember those?) What I'm trying to say is that I think most of my anxiety stems from the worry that I'll have nothing to do on the planes. So I have my iPod, my computer, three books (I originally had four, but gave one up for suitcase space), and !oh! I was going to bring a deck of cards. But it wasn't on my list. I also have enough snacks to feed my entire row and my own mini-pillow (also not on the list, but remembered anyway). I prepared my computer by saving several hours of movies and tv shows. I also made sure to download a game. And because I didn't get all my work done, I have that, too. In other words, I could keep busy for about a month.

But I forgot to bring the maple sugar candy that I was saving for the trip! Argh! I should have made better lists.