Fantasy

There's a trip (read numerous trips) that have been in the making for a few years. They exist on the huge, unending drawing board of my head and sometimes they come close to becoming tangible and at other times they are content to remain wisps of my imagination.

This is a glimpse of what they might've been (can be):

Tour De Romance

This would be a trip to Venice, Paris, Maldives and Napa Valley. This is how I visualize it up in the noggin-

 

The Fun (winks) Tour

This one's an out and out fun place with nightlife, laughs and just let-your-hair-down-kick-your-heels-up kinds. These are the places which feature here:

At this point my child came and dumped a big lump of dough on my lap and said he wanted to play NOW..I guess the travelling fantasies can be shelved for a little while longer...sighs..

A Passionate Packer..

I LOVE to pack. I do. Whether am packing up clothes after winter's over, packing for a trip or just storing away excesses- packing is F-U-N!

It could come from all the packing and unpacking I've been exposed to in my gypsy life. Having put down roots in a city for the 1st time in my life I don't get to haul out the suitcases, duffle bags since travelling's kept to a minimum. Not by choice though...some things play out this way.

While I was packing for a trip I'm going to be taking shortly, I could recall vividly that packing had always been accompanied with a sense of anticipation rather than just being a task that was necessary. Packing brought with it plans for a change of place and pace; meeting new people, reconnecting with old ones; a different experience if not an adventure altogether!

I packed with relief when I used to go home from college and the hostel for the holidays. With downright woe when I had to leave people behind and start off in a new place. With mixed feelings when I packed my bags before my marriage. With trepidation when I packed my hospital bag before I went into labor and with glee now that I'm packing for a beach holiday. Never mind that along with the fun will also go some odds and ends and plenty of 'just-in-case' stuff. But packing always signals the start of a new phase and I guess, having a largely home-bound life; I always welcome change.

And then comes unpacking. And with it comes surprises- pleasant and unpleasant. Gifts you bring back from trips, those special jars of yummies that accompany a kid staying in a hostel, spills of all conceivable kind, things that prove just how fragile they are and every other kind paraphernalia that we deem important enough to keep with us.

So this post has turned out to be an ode to packing...may I keep needing my suitcase more than just for it's annual trip down from the loft to change the Odonil cakes and naphthalene balls.
Amen.