All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go...

Finally, departure is now less than 24 hours away! Getting myself ready for this next adventure has been some of the most stressful preparations I've gone through. But all that has finally come to an end, and everything is packed and ready to go for tomorrow's early departure.

Finishing up the school year was a massive slog, everything seemed to be harder and take longer than it should have. Getting the boys all packed up and shipped off to wherever they were going was probably a great insight into just how challenging packing for a family vacation could be for a parent. At times it felt like Derek and I were the only ones in the house who could see how quickly the closing ceremonies were coming, but with a lot of work (and a lot of missed sleep) we were able to do it! Which meant that I could then move on to my own packing...

I do not know how I've managed to acquire so much stuff. I've spent the last few years trying to be pragmatic about what things I buy, what things I keep, and I what I toss/donate. After having to pack it all up and move it into storage, I can definitely find room for improvement in trying a more minimalist style of living. Though how I intend to thin down my collection of books is a little beyond me, as I made lots of plans on what I want to go back and re-read while packing them away. But that's a problem for August or September.

In about 48 hours I'll be meeting the 44 teenagers I'll be living/traveling with for the next 4 weeks. Looking at how I spent my summers as a teenager, I remember how those experiences helped me define who I was at that time (a definition that's always growing and changing). I think of the successes that gave me confidence, the failures that undermined it, the laughs shared, and the bonds of friendship made and strengthened. I also remember how my first experiences traveling without family also helped me do the same things (experiences that didn't come until much later in my life). Knowing how influential those experiences were fore me, this is why I'm excited that I get to help them travel, learn, and grow on what I hope is going to be a summer of a lifetime.