Days Are - Tick – Tick - Ticking

I really am not sure where the time has gone. 

The only way I know how many days I have left is from the countdown clock I have added to my blog.  I remember telling my best friend when I was nearly into double digit days that that’s when the real countdown would start.  The timing from 101 days to 22 has been, to say the least, a whirlwind.  My week-ends since Christmas have been manic ( my liver is silently agreeing of this point ) and the reality of the ‘no home’, ‘no job’ and ‘no familiar faces’ starts to set in.

Well with only 22 days till I leave ( according to my countdown clock ) it is still hard to believe that I am so close.  The ‘real’ countdown is now on. 

My second last Saturday that I will have to work

My last staff meeting on Monday

14 walking days

8 working days  

3 more weekends

3 more episodes of Farmer Wants a Wife and My Kitchen Rules

2 more visits to The Caxton

2 more pay days and the list goes on…………….

I know it may sound insignificant – but the familiarity will also disappear in 22 days.  Don’t get me wrong – I can’t wait to meet new and ‘different’ people, discover cultures, experience other countries and taste different food – but I will miss the familiarity.

So what goes into the last few weeks’ preparation of a long travel Odyssey?

Arranging money matters for 12 months – this is not as such a mammoth task as it sounds – Travelex is my friend.  With internet banking and BPay – it really is just a matter of being organized – and if you hadn’t guessed – I have no trouble in that department.

Power of Attorney – this is a pretty important one. As I now am husbandless, aside from the financial matters, who will look after my affairs ( touchwood ) should something go wrong.  It is a reality, and I have appointed the most important person in my world for this job.  It comes right down to if I’m in an accident and on life support – what to do, to know whether I would like to donate my organs, and down to being buried or cremated.  Trip or no trip, these things should be discussed with loved ones anyway.

Personal belongings – this has been partially taken care of when I moved out of the family home 5 months ago.  I am now down to the nitty gritty of where personal documents go, family jewelry to be stored and my basic day to day life will need to be boxed and stored until my return.

Working out what will actually come with me on my trip - I have dedicated a post to this already, so you know what is involved.  But doing a pre-pack 4 weeks ago, to actually deciding what will make the cut and what will be culled makes the decision more of a reality. I know that what ever I decide to take / leave something will be the wrong thing – good old Murphy’s Law!

Last and probably the most important is the preparation and the starting of ‘the final’ good-byes.  I hate them at the best of times and just this week I have started to say the ‘G’ word to people whom I won’t see again for at least 12-14 months.   

I hate to think what I will be like at the airport – I can see it now, I will be a blubbering mess – you know the people you see at the international airport – crying like babies – and waving all the way down the escalators and they are still waving as they pass the liquids bag inspection and boarding pass check before heading into customs.  I guess you never really think too much about those people as you generally are only gone for 2 weeks or so, so what is the big deal and tears for?  Well I apologize now – because that will be ME.  So next time you see some-one crying at the airport, have a bit of compassion in your eyes as it is a pretty BIG transition with all those happy and sad feelings running around all at the same time.

Days Are - Tick – Tick - Ticking