trip dread

Have you ever scheduled a trip and as the time to leave came closer, you got more anxious than happy? Trip dread. It’s the wish to be there already, without the effort it takes to get there. You want what the destination has to offer, but not necessarily the “trip” along the way.

What does it feel like? For those of you who get excited the minute you start planning and feel happy anticipating the entire experience, you will not understand a word that I am about to share. For those of you who feel it every time, you will know. It’s that small flicker of happiness that you have a fun trip planned that gets fainter and fainter as the date approaches.  It’s that feeling of regret, wishing you had not agreed to the trip and wondering why you ever made the arrangements. It’s fretting over whether or not you can get out of them and how much it will cost or who it will hurt. Is this just a phenomena for introverts? No, I have an extrovert friend who expressed the entire experience that I have felt and so it must be a universal phenomena. Is it just something that young mother’s or adult women or old men feel? That is unknown.

When does it go away? The minute you get within 15 minutes of the final destination. It doesn’t matter where you departed or where you arrived, how long it took to travel or how far you had to go. It only matters when you have the desired location in the sights of your eyes or the familiarity of the place starts to settle you down into a comfortable- yes, this is going to be fun!

How much does it affect you? I depends on how many times you have conditioned yourself to push through it. I think this could be the reason we have people who never leave home!! Or it could be why some folks avoid vacations. It could be why some of us don’t get to places we wish deep down in our hearts that we could be at. We want to be there- just not plan and execute the “getting there” or the “trip” it takes to make it happen.

Today, I am in the midst of one of those trips. I am in a sunny ocean side location, enjoying myself visiting, resting, reading and relaxing. But, just a few days ago, I was in trip dread. And, just a few days hence, I will be there in full glory. Today, I am feeling it start up again. I do not want to leave. If I could just get somewhere, anywhere and never have to leave…is that even an option? The next month, I have four more trips scheduled- all wonderful and exciting. But, in the back of my mind I know there are 8  more trip dreads coming- to get there- and to get back home. I can’t make myself change this, so I just have to accept it.:)