I need to take the advice of my oldest daughter, who says you have to stop dreaming about a trip and just go.
“Book the tickets and figure it out after,” she said to me once, acknowledging my propensity to think something right into its grave.
And still, I plot and plan and procrastinate, and then a million excuses get in the way of me and my next trip.
I should also take a cue from my mother-in-law, who once risked ending her marriage by booking a trip for our family to the beloved North Carolina mountains where she grew up. She had been wanting to rent a house for us all for Thanksgiving, and my father-in-law would have none of it. I’m sure he thought it was too expensive, and he wasn’t much for trips that were longer than three days. A whole week in a house with her and my family of five (including three very noisy children) must have sounded like torture to him.
She found a place and booked it anyway. It’s not hyperbole to say he didn’t speak to her for a month leading up to the trip.
And then we all had one of the best weeks of our lives, playing games, watching movies, wandering through the surrounding towns, just relaxing and spending fun family time together. By day three, he was asking her to go ahead and book it again for the next year. He loved every minute of it.
We repeated that trip for several years after, and those are some of our best family memories.
Sometimes, we just need a little nudge (or a swift kick in the metaphorical rear), don’t we?
Currently on my radar are Ireland and Scotland, California wine country, Canada and countless other destinations. I think this month’s issue will nudge me to go ahead and book my next trip.
How about you? Here’s wishing you happy travels, wherever your travel dreams take you!
— Lisa Player
