My Travel Companions

Right now I am probably recovering from my four day Inca Trail hike. Thankfully I have three friends to recover with. I haven’t spoken about my travel companions until now, and we are certainly an eclectic bunch.

I am a dominant personality. (What? You say! How unexpected!). I am literally and figuratively the organiser. I have little patience with inefficiency and disorganisation and as such have serious control issues. I planned this trip and I like to know how it is going to pan out in advance. Having said that, I’m also a Scorpio, so I’ll be the most emotional for sure. I’m a massive sook, and will be the first to spill tears.

I’m also travelling with my neighbour, Mrs B. She was the first person to jump on board my crazy plan of heading to Peru. Her personality type is more laid back and easy going than mine. She tolerates my obsessiveness by countering it with her fantastic sense of humour. She will have us all in stitches; but hopefully only the laughing kind and not the medical kind. Mrs B is an Aries. Aries are impulsive and courageous, so we might have to talk her out of taking home a Nazca Lines tattoo as a souvenir.

Dr E (who technically is a Vet, and is therefore only a Doctor of animals – a technicality) has also agreed to join us. This is her first major international adventure. She is practical and happy to tag along for the ride. She is possibly the fittest of the bunch, and could run circles around me with all her energy. But there will be no Nazca Lines tattoo for her on this trip. She’s far too sensible for anything like that. Dr E is a Virgo, and Virgos like to help others. I’m hoping that her medical skills play an important role on our hike when I am writhing in pain and whinging about my knees. Surely something translates between horses and humans…

Finally we will be joined by Miss Honey. She is the nurturer (just like her Roald Dahl counterpart). In fact she’s possibly one of the nicest people I know. Whilst she is the youngest in our group, she is possibly the most sensible. I’m relying on her sensitivity when I am falling in a heap at the top of Dead Woman’s Pass on the Inca Trail. Luckily for Miss Honey, she is also a Virgo. This means that she will really have no say in helping me; she will feel instinctively compelled. She will be like the camp mum. Having said that, I’m also dying to see how she goes after sampling the local Chicha…

I think we have a lovely group dynamic and I’m excited about seeing how it all works out in the end. Also, I don’t think I will cry as much as I wrote above. I haven’t planned for it in my itinerary anyway.

The Guilt Trip

The Guilt Trip

There’s a phrase I was introduced to recently that impacted on me so much I can’t believe I didn’t think of it myself any sooner. It’s the ‘guilt bake’. It’s actually part of a bigger process called ‘The Guilt Trip’. This is essentially just a holiday for anyone else, but for Mums who leave husbands and children behind, it is a ‘Guilt Trip.’

I’m heading off on my overseas adventure any day now.

Right now I'm over the Pacific somewhere headed here, to Peru.

 

So much planning has gone into it I don’t even know if I’m excited or relieved about getting on the plane anymore. Holidays used to be about putting some gear into a suitcase or back pack and double checking documents and then just heading away. But since I’ve been a wife and mother I have to add a few other jobs to my pre-departure pack list.

1.     The guilt bake – where you realise that you are leaving your family behind while you head off to do something insanely exciting and selfish, so you leave behind a freezer full of goodies (biscuits, slice, cake etc.) to appease your own guilt. This guilt bake also extends to meals. I will leave behind lasagne, pies, potato bakes and roast meat (cut and frozen) to be eaten while I am away. The Farmer does not suffer the same pre-departure guilt and has not (up to this point) ever felt the need to do a guilt bake before he leaves to go anywhere.

2.     The guilt clean – this is when you run around like a lunatic for the weeks leading up to your departure getting everything spotless, and then chase everyone around your house to make sure they don’t undo any of your hard work in cleaning until you leave. This includes the fridge, pantry and (this time) I even ransacked most of the cupboards in our house. The sad part is that the house will never be as clean upon your return, but there is still some joy in knowing you got it spotless before you left.

3.     The list – I am probably going a little overboard here, but I have been known to leave crazy lists before I go away. During the school term, the lists may include the morning and evening routines for the children. On school holidays it may include location of medications in the house, times for medicine administration and dates for certain events.

The really silly part about all of this is that even without the guilt bake, guilt clean and list making, the children and Farmer would all survive. It’s part of the pressure cooker I sit myself in before I actually head away. Maybe the guilt trip is more about what I expect from myself, and not how anyone else is making me feel. In any event, the holiday will all be over in two weeks and normality will be restored again; and if I’m lucky, most of what I prepared will still be in the freezer for when I return.