Monday, November 7, 2011

Updates on Vagabonding (because we just like that word)

We're Atlanta waiting to go to Milano tonight. Tiny blob appears to be growing, which is not surprising but seems to have caught me unexpectedly. In our spate of genius minimalism, I did not consider traveling with maternity clothes. Actually I did think about it, but seemed to remember that with Noah, I only started wearing maternity clothes at about 22 weeks. Then I chose to ignore my current pre-stretched out tummy muscles. So we'll see how long the rabbit pants fit...

Our experiences of working while traveling has been good. The main challenge is that we're never fully "off"- perhaps like students. But we're never fully "on" either- we're able to do whatever makes the most sense for the day.

Noah really enjoyed hanging out with his 7 year old aunt, Sedona, and his half-cousins Nathanael (13) and Lilly (11) and their mom, Kim. He learned some serious ballet moves, which he then brought home to our hotel. Spinning like a maniac, mainly.

We had put off closing our U.S. bank accounts and credit cards that we didn't have leeway to take care of in Boston (given that checks were still clearing and final bills needed paying), saying we would close them in Sedona. We didn't. Which is the type of thing I stress about. Will our money descend into the void? Are we failing at being responsible adults? Then it occurred to me that we have all the money we need to pay our bills, so this would be something to revel in and enjoy. If we're charged $10 for having our bank accounts open for a month after my direct deposit ended, it's possible that we will, in fact, survive.

Traveling has its share of stressors, and I'm learning to let them take up just a moment, because thinking about things like packing and checking out of a hotel and getting on a plane can balloon to fill my whole day. The key has been to let those things be small tasks that are just a part of the day.

This is our last day in the U.S. for the foreseeable future (which we tried to explain at the check-in counter when we explained our lack of return flight: "Oh, ok, you're taking a ship to South Africa? Well, how are you getting back from there?" Repeat.) and it's anticlimactic because we've already said goodbye to our friends, who we miss dearly. Instead, I desperately want some time to catch up on Parks and Recreation, Fringe and Modern Family before we leave the U.S. Zone of Hulu (our internet in Sedona was painfully slow and the last weeks in Boston too busy). Noah has other plans, which probably consist of healthier ways to spend the afternoon.

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