One More Sleep!

As much as I have dilly-dallied, laid out and re-laid out clothing, made dozens of 'last minute' trips to shops, time has closed in on me. In a classic Paula move, I decided yesterday that I simply had to sew a pair of wrap around pants to take with me. Sewing doesn't work out so well when you are rushing and anxious. Those pants are staying at home!

Meanwhile, Rabbi (my dear hubby) is the consummate traveller. He has little cases for everything. All of his bits and pieces are logged and charted and in the perfect place. At one point today, I passed by his dresser where he had laid out various items. I called downstairs to him. "Honey, what's with the emergency wind up radio? Are you expecting the world to end?" "I like to be prepared", he answered.

Fortunately for me, being married to this WonderTraveller, I can pretty much forget anything I like and be fairly confident he will have remembered to bring it! Oh, and in case you were wondering...I solved the guitar dilemma. Actually I followed Rabbi's advice:) I am taking my old blue Yamaha guitar in a soft backpack case. I am going to try to take it onboard with me and if it has to be checked, so be it. This guitar was a gift from an Israeli boyfriend 30 years ago. It is not the end of the world if it gets broken in transit. Although it doesn't sound half as good as my Martin guitar, it is decent enough to get by.

Now to the real issue of tomorrow....the flight. The main reason I do not enjoy travel is the airplane trip. I love airports...the cool shops and great coffee, the vibe of people going to and fro. It is actually being airborne that totally freaks me out! I am one of those who believes that people are not meant to fly. Over the years I have developed a few ways to deal with my anxiety.  I am pretty good at pretending I am not in the air. I distract myself from this reality. Try as I might though, there is always a terrifying 10 to 15 minute period where I allow myself to acknowledge that I am 30,000 feet up over the ocean and I go through the scenario where the plane loses altitude and plunges down, smashing us all into a billion bits. Sometimes in my scenario I survive, but I have completely lost my memory due to the trauma and I live out my life somewhere else, never knowing who I was or where I came from. I realize chances are I will make it to my destination tomorrow.

When we arrive, after our 11 hours of flying, the plan is to shuttle to the hotel and drop off our stuff. It will be noon on Friday in Jerusalem by then. We will walk over to Machaneh Yehudah, the market, and gather some provisions for our hotel fridge and get ready for Shabbat. We plan to attend Shabbat Services at Kehilat Har El. This was the founding Reform Synagogue in Israel! If all goes well this is where we will be by Friday evening.

This will be my last blog post until after Shabbat. Wishing everyone a wonderful Shabbat of peace and joy. Prayers for Eyal, Gilad and Naftali's safe return. Happy Shabbat to everyone on their way to Camp this week!