In
exactly two weeks I will be heading through Heathrow airport, on my way to board
the plane. I don’t know where all the
time has gone, I really don’t. It has
flown at an unrelenting pace since I booked my tickets in May. Not a day goes by when I don’t think of yet another thing to do before I go. If it isn’t written down, it is quickly replaced by something else and gets forgotten. Suddenly my careful packing lists (yes, I’m
one of those people) are not only a hypothetical document of possible
suitcase-fillers, but actual records of the precise items I need to bring with
me. So far I have packed and weighed my
suitcase, removed some things, weighed it again, emptied it, bought a new
suitcase (the first one weighed 5.4kg empty, hardly ideal), filled it and
weighed again. It now sits patiently,
expectantly, on the landing outside my room, just waiting for the final
items to be stuffed in and the padlock clicked, signalling the real start of the trip. The lists, highlighted to show items still to
be purchased (I told you I was one of those people), are getting less
colourful as the days go on and I collect more travel items and check them off
the inventory.
Time
is flying even faster now that I know how little is left, so every day
counts. Whether it means spending just a
little bit of extra time with the people I care about, or just making
provisions for my absence, there is a constant stream of thoughts, plans, and
general neuroses to contend with. And
while still working a full-time job I might add!
But as head-frying as it all is, it’s the good sort; it’s like my brain
has been slapped on to a George Foreman grill rather than into a vat of hissing
oil. It’s just a lot to process at once
while trying to stay in the present and make the most of my time here.
Which
brings me to my next point; the things I’ll miss.
I’m cataloguing them now for public consumption because I am determined
to make the most of my time away without thinking so much about what I’m
missing at home. I made that mistake the
last time. I became focused on things I
wanted from home, which meant that sometimes I didn’t appreciate what I
had there.
I’ve spent a long time this evening writing
about people I will miss, and about the qualities that make them the sort of person
I want to be, but I don’t want to post it here until I
am out of the country because it is too soon for goodbyes and I am a massive coward. So for now I will
just note the more frivolous things I will be missing:
Nate the hamster (AKA Fuzzy Furry Fat Face). My bed. Fruit Gums. Amber. Steak. Getting to see Muse live in the UK. All the good TV coming back on in
October. The clothes I can’t
bring with me. BT Infinity. Christmas being marketed before Halloween. Halloween! Banter with colleagues. Wearing proper make-up. Choral society. Crisp, wintry scarf-and-gloves weather. Hot
showers. Cheese. Cheesecake. Driving. Granny’s Sunday lunches followed by ice-cream and jelly.
I’m
sure I’ve missed lots of things, but my lightly-grilled brain is struggling again. And despite the recurring references, I swear I'm not blogging on an empty stomach, though you'd be excused for thinking I was hungry considering all the food mentions and metaphors.
As for the over-emo people-I'll-miss list … well, you can
see it in 2 weeks ;)
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