LATEST TRICKS: Rome Wasn't Built in a Day

...Or a week for that matter!  The old dogs have learned a very important new trick.  It takes a whole heck of a lot longer than anticipated to wrap up business at home as well as prepare and pack for a three month trip, especially after losing a much-needed week of preparation time when our furry little travel agent, Tut, became ill, needed urgent diagnosis and care, and ultimately parted earthly company with us. We tried to convince ourselves, even though slowed by grief and confronted with the realities of time, that we could somehow make up that whole lost week.  So, we tried, and tried, and tried and tried.  The end result was stress, fatigue and the inevitable…no matter how many new tricks you have up your sleeve, you can’t bend time!

The result was a delay in our departure.  And then another.  And another.  First, we said, let’s just give ourselves an extra day, despite a “to do” list that was in direct conflict with a twenty-four hour timeframe.  But, we felt a little sheepish--everyone was expecting us to depart on Saturday.  Nonetheless, we cheerfully proclaimed that we would be headed out on Sunday.  Ha!  We were still missing six critical days!  But, somehow we had to do it.  We didn’t want to disappoint our friends, family and followers.  We also didn’t want to let ourselves down.  So, we promised that we would be leaving for sure on Sunday…Monday… Tuesday.  Not surprisingly, Monday night and Tuesday morning ushered in a spectacular migraine for me.  Ever the devoted travel planner and organizer (and one stubborn woman), I kept trying to figure out a way to make it work.  (Did I mention that you can’t bend time?  That really irks me.) 

It took us a few days but we finally caught on…this is part of the journey.  We said we wanted to think outside the box…these circumstances certainly pushed us into thinking outside of the box.  Just not in the way we planned.  What this helped us to realize is that the journey itself is more important to us than any particular agenda or destination.  When Tut got sick, our primary concern was taking care of the kitty we love so dearly, not the impact on our agenda. And, when we lost a week of preparation and had to delay the trip by four days, our primary concern was disappointing our friends, not missing out on a particular city or state. 

So, friends, family and followers…we thank you for your enthusiasm, love, support, and now, your patience.   As we’ve most recently learned, it will all be worth the wait.  The journey is more important than the destination.
-- Laura

REMEMBRANCE: Our Travel Agent, King Tut

The beautiful little travel agent pictured on the home page of our blog is none-other-than our beloved kitty, King Tut (aka Tut, Tutty, Tutters, Puss-Cat, and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Restrained). It is with heavy hearts that we post this entry tonight. Tut has taken on a new job; he is now the angel who will watch over us in our travels instead of the playful little imp that poked holes in our maps and rebooted our computers. While we didn't have children by choice, we poured our parental energies into loving Tut, our first adopted “child”. Ironically, our eight-year old “little boy” followed in the footsteps of his namesake, Egypt’s King Tut. Often referred to as “The Boy King”, Tutankhamun died at the young age of nineteen.

Tut taught us so much. We are far better people for being his adopted parents. While Tut is no longer physically with us, his larger-than-life spirit lives on in both of us as well in the many friends and family that loved him. -- Ted & Laura