Romantic Roads

Let’s be honest, there is almost never a time that I love travel planning. I tolerate it at best, but more often than not, I loathe it. Another travel friend and I call it “f’ing travel planning,” which seems to be an accurate description. When this first started, I loved perusing through Airbnb, like opening presents on Christmas Day, it always felt like a treasure hunt. What will inspire me today? Which dream can I fulfill?

Reality check: with the demands of work, I was always flying by the seat of my pants, and it evolved into “which place will I hate the least and satisfy the majority of our criteria?” I do have to admit that when travel options become the world, it does get a tad bit overwhelming. Filling in gaps is tantamount to a fast moving game of Tetris. As the overthinker, how do I choose our special “where to next?” What drives my decisions? Chasing 72 (degrees), amazing housesit, low cost of living, bucket list adventure, crazy transportation deal, girlfriend time, squirrel quest?…They are all valid options, and sometimes choosing is like choosing my favorite child or chasing puppies up and down a see-saw.

Making decisions is easy when I do it for others, but for me, I drown in FUD (fear, uncertainty, doubt). I think at 51, I’m feeling the speed of time so much more, and I’m constantly worried about losing time—aka, NOT LIVING A LIFE WELL SPENT.  I’m a perfectionist, and I want every experience and place to be utterly beautiful and fantastic, with lots of opportunities for connection and feeding my soul. Unicorns and rainbows.

That’s not how it works. You just pick one, sometimes it’s the lesser of the evils, and sometimes it’s just a place to be and catch up on life. Sometimes it’s his turn to pick, and sometimes it’s mine. Sometimes it’s going with it, and if we hate it, we pivot. My two favorite phrases have become “Decisions for now” and “Pivot”. Nothing is forever, and we’re not stuck. That’s the beauty of location independence. We learn as we go, and we adjust when needed. Doing a post-mortem after a trip is helpful to hone in on what sparks joy and identify what we need and what we can do without. It’s time to release the burden of travel planning and find joy in having the opportunity (of letting Cooper pick the next place).