Anticipation...

I haven't seen "my babies" since January.  They aren't really my babies, but the two- and five-year-old girls currently on their way to my home won my heart at birth--theirs, not mine.  Between constraints on each end, it has been way too long since I've seen them.  We planned this visit months ago.  As the time has approach, my anticipation has increased.  Over the last week, I've gotten more and more excited.  If I calculate properly, they are probably 30 minutes away, and I am beside myself.

Years ago I heard that half the fun of a trip was planning.  I am not a planner, and I really love being spontaneous on trips.  Yet, I am fully aware that some of my best travel adventures are the result of enough research to figure out where the potential awaited.  As my life has become more and more harried, my planning and research for trips has gotten shorter and shorter. 

A doctor's appointment the day before my first trip to Italy resulted in a two-hour round trip Metro ride from the office and back, giving me my first two hours of "research."  On the way out that morning, I'd grabbed one of the tourist guides that I'd acquired months early but hadn't opened.  As I chugged from one end of the Metro almost to the other, I read about Ravenna, the birthplace of mosaics.  On a whim, my friend and I drove across the boot of Italy for an amazing two days in Ravenna.  We wouldn't have wanted to miss it, but for my doctor's appointment, we wouldn't have known what it offered.

On my way to Spain two years ago, I started my research on the plane east to Europe.  I was so busy getting things under control before my vacation that I just didn't think I had time...until I was on my way.  I was packing on my way out the door, too.

I know that this will be a wonderful weekend, but I also know how much fun the planning has been.  Looking forward to their faces...planning and preparing special foods that I think the family will like...picking a special Chianti Classico to share with their dad...thinking about what I think the family will enjoy on their visit to DC.   It's been wonderful.

The really amazing thing to me is how in my body I've been today.  I should have worked, but I didn't.  When their departure was delayed, I could have worked, but decided not to.  I wanted to fully anticipate the visit.  I made preparations, but mostly I anticipated the joy of their hugs, giggles and squeals, and passion.  My heart has gotten bigger and bigger. 

I just got a text that they are on the beltway.  I feel giddy: like a young girl in love.  Actually, I think that I am: I am in love with these girls, and I am totally enjoying the experience of anticipating them.  My heart felt bigger and fluttery.  There was a tickle in my throat and even some butterflies in my stomach as I anticipated.

This day has been rich because I've allowed myself to feel the joy of anticipation.  As I think back about trips when I took time and space for anticipation, there was much more excitement.  The last few vacations I've taken have felt very matter of fact and rushed because I have forgotten or lost the power of anticipation.

This fall I am going to Greece.  There have been two guide books on my desk for almost two months.  Until this moment, when I opened one to see the date on the receipt, I hadn't opened either. Today, it dawned on me how much I've been missing by not consciously making  time to prepare for my trips.   I will do so, I promise.

In the meantime, I've received a call from the girls' mother that they are here. Now is time to switch from anticipation to full-on enjoyment.