Attacked with excitement

I heard once that physiologically, excitement and nervousness are practically the same. The butterflies, the stomach on a roller coaster, the intense focus of thoughts, the sweaty pits in ones palms ~ all associated with both states of emotion. So I am not certain if I am excited out of my mind or on the brink of a panic attack.

Rob and I are embarking on the biggest travel adventure of our marriage. We’ve traveled a fair amount together over the past 23 years, but this trip is further away and with many more moving parts than we’ve tackled before. My dad would be proud to see I have a binder…yes a binder, Mom…in our backpack. With tabs for each destination and filled with confirmation notes and vouchers and boarding passes and travel insurance documentation.

So that’s part of my excitement/nervousness. And then there’s the fact that we are going to a few places that the State Department says are fine to go to as long as you are in large bus tours (which we will be). And there’s the fact that one port has already been nixed by the cruise company due to safety concerns. And that as a result, two days of planned once-in-a-lifetime excursions are in limbo until we get on the boat and can talk to someone with a uniform and nametag.

The nerves/excitement has been a bit overwhelming. My appetite is off and my sleep has been spotty. I calmed down a bit once we left our time zone. The pain medication helped, too (an unexpected but nice side benefit). But I still have waves of stomach flip flops.

We are in Boston today, leaving this afternoon for points southeast. I’ll be blogging along the way, with Pepto at the ready. So I invite you to settle in for some armchair travel and join me as we explore some ancient lands and move through my binder one tab at a time.