"To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan and not quite enough time."
— Leonard Bernstein
My head is spinning in the best way possible.
Sunday night I realized I only had two weeks to plan something for Semana Santa (Holy Week; I have the week off school) if I wanted to travel. Which of course I did. I began bouncing around ideas in my head and off of friends about where in the world I should go.
Monday I was talking to my friend Shannon about how amazing traveling alone is….but that it would be kinda nice to have a friend to share this next trip with as it would be significantly longer.
She said, “Yeah, I wish I could come to Spain.”
I said, “Yeah, I wish too.”
She said, “No, I really wish.”
I said, “Me too.”
You know how it is. I think I spend half my time telling people they should come visit me, like, next week when really I know it’s unrealistic for time/money constraints.
We wished.
And then she started looking at flights.
I went to bed Monday night with my mind busy running in circles starting with “what if” and ending with me imagining wandering Spanish markets and sitting at cafes with my friend. I had told myself not to get my hopes up, because what are the odds she could commit to such an expensive and sudden trip? Something would get in the way: the price, work, other practicalities.
Tuesday my hopes were on a cliff—great view of the hypothetical future, long way down.
I jumped into planning mode, just in case. I looked for hostels, trains, planes, etc. to get us back and forth to our two hypothetically selected destinations. We talked, and she said she was 85% sure she was going to do it. I was shocked and bouncy. Her friends and family seemed to be of the mind that this actually wasn’t crazy but an amazing opportunity for adventure (yay smart friends & family!)
We talked logistics for hours Tuesday night, a mere 24 hours after the plan was hatched, and we left it at this: I would go to bed (8 hours ahead here in Spain) and when I woke up I would either have an email that she’d booked a flight or that it just wouldn’t work. I didn’t sleep well last night.
This morning I sat down at the computer at work and anxiously went to open my email. Only the internet was down. Of course. Luckily it was back up an hour later. I held my breath as gmail loaded.
And there it was, an email from Shannon. The subject line: “Real or Not Real?”
The body: “Real!!!”
Today, I have booked two hostels, a train ticket, and 3 flights. This is an adventure I never expected and I am so grateful for it. A spontaneous spirit can be the best kind.
*Points if you pick up on the blatantly obvious Mockingjay reference in this post.
My head is spinning in the best way possible.
Sunday night I realized I only had two weeks to plan something for Semana Santa (Holy Week; I have the week off school) if I wanted to travel. Which of course I did. I began bouncing around ideas in my head and off of friends about where in the world I should go.
Monday I was talking to my friend Shannon about how amazing traveling alone is….but that it would be kinda nice to have a friend to share this next trip with as it would be significantly longer.
She said, “Yeah, I wish I could come to Spain.”
I said, “Yeah, I wish too.”
She said, “No, I really wish.”
I said, “Me too.”
You know how it is. I think I spend half my time telling people they should come visit me, like, next week when really I know it’s unrealistic for time/money constraints.
We wished.
And then she started looking at flights.
I went to bed Monday night with my mind busy running in circles starting with “what if” and ending with me imagining wandering Spanish markets and sitting at cafes with my friend. I had told myself not to get my hopes up, because what are the odds she could commit to such an expensive and sudden trip? Something would get in the way: the price, work, other practicalities.
Tuesday my hopes were on a cliff—great view of the hypothetical future, long way down.
I jumped into planning mode, just in case. I looked for hostels, trains, planes, etc. to get us back and forth to our two hypothetically selected destinations. We talked, and she said she was 85% sure she was going to do it. I was shocked and bouncy. Her friends and family seemed to be of the mind that this actually wasn’t crazy but an amazing opportunity for adventure (yay smart friends & family!)
We talked logistics for hours Tuesday night, a mere 24 hours after the plan was hatched, and we left it at this: I would go to bed (8 hours ahead here in Spain) and when I woke up I would either have an email that she’d booked a flight or that it just wouldn’t work. I didn’t sleep well last night.
This morning I sat down at the computer at work and anxiously went to open my email. Only the internet was down. Of course. Luckily it was back up an hour later. I held my breath as gmail loaded.
And there it was, an email from Shannon. The subject line: “Real or Not Real?”
The body: “Real!!!”
Today, I have booked two hostels, a train ticket, and 3 flights. This is an adventure I never expected and I am so grateful for it. A spontaneous spirit can be the best kind.
*Points if you pick up on the blatantly obvious Mockingjay reference in this post.
3 comments:
Yay I get bouns points for the MJ reference!!!
Can't wait to hear about the adventures!!!!
Awesome!
I'm so excited for you & Shannon and I can't wait to read/hear all about all the wonderful things you both will do!
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