Monday, severely edited
~ when departure stops being theoretical, priorities stop pretending
Musings … my thoughts, every day since March 20, 2003 … now in my 24th year, haven’t missed a day; love the ‘likes’ - thanks to those who click the heart button, I’d love to see more comments and extensions of the conversation - so, please click the cloud-shaped balloon with your comments and/or suggestions - they make this writer better and are shared with all readers who get this publication.
Not everything can make this trip … whether I’m packing one(1) suitcase, one(1) briefcase, one(1)backpack, one(1) ‘thumb drive’ or many ‘notes to self’ …
Too much for too little Monday … or, not enough of me to take care of everything …
~ the final scramble before imagination becomes itinerary
Before Tuesday morning comes - next stop on my calendar - the shortness of this Monday is less for optimal theorizing of anything; urgency dictates all things today.
This big trip planning began less than 90 days ago, an unexpected opportunity, and now it’s come down to an essential list of essential tasks.
Packed bags, shorter list and today’s tight pace - everyone experiences this, I suppose; the choices are less of ‘what to pack/take’ vis-a-vis what to leave behind, leave undone, or leave for another trip at another time.
It’s more than taking the essentials and providing for all the ‘what ifs’ … like what if it rains?, what if luggage is lost?, what if flights are delayed? etc. - much is carefully and prudently booked, and what’s not booked, not taken, or no-room-for-it is purposeful too …
Too much to do, too little time is a ubiquitous reality … but this is no ordinary day waiting for chance, variables and the peformance (or not) of others.
Before departure, it becomes the tangled thread stitched into and tugging through everything - because, suddenly, everything else is connected somehow to everything else.
Balance looks/feels delicate for a while, then fragile, then occasionally harsh, as little things go wrong and begin conspiring with the other little things that would have been easy, almost laughably easy, had I done them earlier.
It was supposed to be a weekend that chipped away at all the outstanding to-do and must-be-done items … but that would not happen. The weekend wasn’t impossible - it’s just that the actions of others were needed more than I expected.
Nothing disastrous.
Just full of uncomfortable reminders that Monday’s list can no longer pretend to be a list of everything.
It has become a MUST-do list, a NOT Today list, and a quiet pile of work that will still be here when I return.
What stays urgent when the time remaining is no longer generous?
Yikes.
Uber comes at 7:00 Tuesday morning.
Yesterday, this trip was vivid enough - with flexibility to fill in some remaining blanks/variables, or to make some changes …
Today, about everything on my agenda - it’s an edit severely day …
Chop. Cut. Cut down, cut back, fill the trash can or reset the date until I get back.
Some things will be done.
Some postponed.
Some left behind for two weeks, which is hardly forever, though departure sometimes stirs a deeper feeling than the itinerary warrants.
At a certain age, even happy anticipation can arrive with a faint undertow.
We plan for the long runway ahead, while quietly knowing none of us is promised one.
That thought does not spoil the trip.
It sharpens the focus.
It may even explain the small cauldron bubbling in my belly, part excitement, part anxiety, part recognition that this is not merely another Tuesday with luggage.
Deadlines don’t create priorities - don’t rank them either.
They reveal what must be done no matter what, what must be taken along v. left behind, and what must go in the trash.
There is a magical urgency about a departure time in our immediate future - it sharpens the mind, speeds up every decision, minimizes time/labour with execution of speed-thinking … - move over Kahneman and Tversky … I’ve got my own take on Fast & Slow …
In minutes, we decide which tasks matter, which obligations will wait, and which ambitions were never going to fit inside one Monday anyway.
So, today is not for conquest.
It’s for choosing.
And deciding which bag truly won’t hold another time or another pound.
When time becomes scarce enough to tell the truth, the list finally shows us what mattered before we were willing to admit it.
Safe travels, Mark. Wishing you a wonderful adventure.