The Equinox to the contrary, summer is over. School is in full swing and we’re fully embedded in September. Much to my joy, a few leaves in my area have already turned.
The change in seasons is a good time to reflect. It was a good summer. Work was a little slower, but other areas ramped up. I also found a new interest. We’ll get to that in a future post. I enjoyed spending lots of time with my family, both at home and around our community. I also read a lot.
While we had some nice highs, writing for this blog took a back seat. Upon reflection, that is something that will change. I enjoy writing, and have no shortage of ideas. So, with this new season, regular posts will again appear in this little corner of the interwebs.
I’m very excited about an upcoming trip. In November, the whole family will take off on a European adventure. We’ve talked about doing this trip for several years. We’re finally making the leap. I’ve been saving my Skymiles with Delta since I started my current job. We’ll get to visit family in Brussels and Northern Italy. We’ll have time on our own at each end of the trip and in the middle, when we travel from Belgium to Italy. We only have our flights and where we’ll be for Thanksgiving fully decided. Planning the rest will come soon enough.
For me, one of the exciting aspects of this so far is our willingness and ability to be flexible. Thanksgiving is not a cheap time to fly. By returning a couple of days later than we planned, we saved half of the cost of the flights. That meant that I was able to upgrade our seats and still save miles from what I originally expected to pay. We don’t vacation very often, so I’m putting a little more into this one, without breaking the bank, of course. Having Skymiles and hotel points built up from my business travel is very nice.
I read someone’s perspective on the value of not fully planning a trip, but remaining open to options that only present themselves when you show up. There might be sites or events that you don’t find in the pre-trip research. If your time is fully scheduled, especially if tickets were purchased in advance, then you won’t be able to change course.
It reminds me of two personalities in our extended family that forever mock one another. One is the spreadsheet guy. He likes having things planned ahead of time, so that everyone involved is on the same page and knows what’s happening and when. The other one I’ll call “fly-by-the-seat-of-the-pants” guy. “We’ll be there when we get there”. “We’ll leave when we’re ready”. Those are his mottos. It’s great to be a spectator when they try to plan something.
I’m more like the spreadsheet guy, but recognize the value of not being too regimented. I want to have a little more of the latter personality as well. We’ll see if I can strike a good balance on this trip.
For this trip, fortunately neither of them will be there!
Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay
A word of warning: you might come across the Russian super-villain color-coded-spreadsheet girl and her American arch-nemesis make-it-up-on-the-go guy.
I remember her detailed spreadsheets. They were great!