“Part of the fun is planning and preparation.” I read this on a blog post early in the planning process (one of the million I’ve poured over), and I would have agreed wholeheartedly if you’d asked me up to a month ago. Leisurely surfing the internet researching places we want to experience, searching for flights, and reading accounts of others who have embarked on similar journeys was enjoyable. Ask me how I feel now, I dare you.

I consider myself a pretty organized person. I’ve been managing a list of things to do, buy and pack for over a year. Ask me to book a flight, plan a route, apply for visas or sell a car, I’m your person. But, make me pick and pack (into backpacks only) a wardrobe to cover over 20 countries, varying climates and activities ranging from a trek in Nepal to a slow boat down the Mekong River, you’ve found my weakness. I’ll admit that this has sent my stress levels into overdrive. I just can’t get my head around it. Shopping is torture to me, and always has been. We’re trying to bring clothing we already have, but there are a few pieces we all need. The girls are growing so quickly that buying stuff for them too soon was impossible; we’d have been giving it away before we leave…..

Update. I paused writing this post for a couple of days, and I’m glad I did. I was watching Grace’s soccer game last night and chatting with her friend Lily’s mom. She travelled the world with her parents years ago and talking with her really gave me some perspective. Basically her advice was not to stress, we’re not going to the moon. She said we’ll probably find things along the way to wear that we love more than what we have, especially in Nepal, India and Southeast Asia. “With all of the beautiful textiles made in these places, a piece of cloth will probably be what you wear most.” So, I’m done. No more shopping. What we have is fine and probably already too much. So my next mission is to go over everything and reduce where I can. We’ll try a preliminary packing session next week and see how it goes.