In advance

Do you find yourself getting stressed out before a vacation?  I know I have often put myself in the situation of not packing early enough or getting everything together in order sooner than I do.  Plans?  Those are usually set well ahead of time.  Doing what needs to get me out the door?  That's usually reserved for the last minute, and it does me no favors.

I am trying to be better prepared for the trip to Canada this week.  Part of the reason is because there have been so many moving pieces that I don't want to be scrambling at the last minute.  I want to get to bed early the night before--yes, even if it is my birthday--so I'll be rested before an early rise and lengthy drive.

I gave up a significant portion of today to working.  While I didn't complete everything on the list, I was pleased with my productivity.  I made good strides.  I plan to hit the sack at a reasonable hour to reset my clock.  (This will do me no good once at the festival, but I'm most concerned with that first day.)  I want to do most of the packing on Tuesday so it's not a concern on the day before departure.

I've been stressing out about this trip for awhile, mainly because there's been so much to keep on top of.  Hotel reservations were made three or four months ago.  I bought the ticket package about two months ago.  Last week required getting the specific tickets allotted where I wanted.  That's done, at least for what's within my control.  Who's driving and when we're leaving has not been discussed, although I kind of figure that I'll be the one who ends up behind the wheel.  By virtue of the ticket distribution giving me something Thursday night, I have a much more pressing need to get there with ample time, thus necessitating an early morning departure.  Then there's figuring out where to park, how to get around, etc.

Let's put it this way: I've been dreaming about all this.

I'm sure things will go fine and that I'll have a good time.  The anxiety leading up to it, though, has been more than I expected.  And so help me if I somehow forget my passport.