Trust the training...London here we come!

Sam took this - I can't believe we will be there soon!

When I was preparing for my first half marathon last summer, I was embarking on something I had never done before and something I wasn't sure I could even do.  I followed the training plan and did my best to prepare for the unknown.  As race day approached, I heard the phrase 'trust the training,'  meaning you trust that you have done all you can to train and prepare yourself for the race, and that ultimately you are ready even if you feel like you aren't.

I am kind of thinking about this month-long trip to London, the Netherlands, and France like that.  We have spent months talking about it with the girls.  We have checked out library books, watched shows, tried learning a bit of French, discussed things we were excited to do, and tried to prepare them for the different things they would encounter.  But the fear and doubts are starting to creep in to my mind about the reality of such a big trip with such little kids.  Just like with my running, I'm trying my best to 'trust the training,' but how do you really prepare for this?  As much as I like to think we have done a lot to ready the kids (and ourselves), this isn't something you can exactly 'train' for.

Besides, the girls are responding to this differently because they are in very different stages of life and development.  Morgan has really been drawn to all the facts and details and maps, as we have shared with her.  She is at the stage where she is very curious and wants to know what's going to happen, where we will be, and the dates and facts.  That's also the kind of thinker she is.  Sasha, on the other hand, is three.  Three year olds like their routines A LOT and really don't have a good concept of time.  She keeps saying things like, "can I take this bear to Paris when we go tomorrow?" (this was months ago), or "when it's my birthday next week, I want to get a cake!" (her birthday is in December)  I would have preferred to wait to tell Sasha about the trip closer to the day we leave (like a week or two in advance), but I knew preparing Morgan in advance as much as possible was best for her, particularly because she has to miss the last two weeks of kindergarten, which she is very bummed about.

Sasha's paper chain

So, to help with this we made calendars for each of the girls to count down the days until we leave for London.  I thought a paper chain would definitely help Sasha, but Morgan preferred to make her own white board calendar....ever the linear thinker.  For me, there are about 12 different lists: shopping lists, things to do at the house here before we leave, lists of places to see, etc. etc.

Morgan's London calendar countdown

Yet there is a lot of anxiousness in the air here at home, especially since Sam has been in London since May 5.  I have tried to get into a somewhat boring routine after a hectic April, to help my youngest find some security, but she picks up on my stress of trying to single parent.  I have my good days and bad days.  Lately, it's been bad since both girls came down with strep throat.  The illness isn't the hard part (though sleeping well has been a big issue).  It's the horrible tasting medicine that has been driving me mad (as in the British crazy way)!  Despite channeling my inner Mary Poppins and trying a 'spoon full of sugar,' it's been a tearful battle....twice a day....for two of the ten days I have to give them this stuff.  I'm really missing Sam now - we all are - but I know the end is near and the reward is a fabulous trip very soon!

Pre-trip haircut!

But will it be a fabulous trip?  I really can't say, but it will be pretty unforgettable.  I am feeling both excited and stupid at the same time: stupid for trying to do this with kids, and excited to see the world through our kids' eyes.  I have a lot of fears that may or may not come true.  Fear of no one sleeping on the 10 hour plane ride.   Fear of jet lag that will be even more torturous (my kids are tired, cranky, and emotional in THIS timezone...let alone one that's 8 hours different!)  Fear they won't hold hands while crossing streets in London.  Fear that my kids will throw a major fit in a French restaurant to the horror of locals. Fear that they will get hurt or sick...we have a track record for visiting urgent care while on vacations.  Fear that the girls will fight and drive me crazy.  And my biggest fear is that I will be a grumpy mummy!

But then I remember why I love to travel.  It started when I was 18 and was lucky enough to go to Australia and New Zealand through People to People International.  I got the travel bug then and it has stayed with me.  I travel not only to see the world and new things, but because it changes me.  The ups and downs of travel will change me in ways that I cannot imagine as I sit here in my dining room typing this right now.  And it will change our kids.  And it will change us as a family.  We will never have a trip like this again, with our kids at these ages.  Like so many of the trips I have been able to take in my life, this is another once-in-a-lifetime travel opportunity....or rather, once-in-a-childhood.  So despite all the fears, despite not feeling ready, I am so very excited to see how this trip changes us all.  And I am going to trust that we really are prepared for this amazing adventure.

St. Paul's from the Southbank at dusk, taken by Sam