This article is reprinted by permission from NextAvenue.org. On the eve of my departure for Austria with a friend, my husband and I sit side by side on the living room couch, sharing a bottle of wine. “Are you excited?” he asks.
It’s a simple question. Yet the answer is complicated. Since my early 20s, I’ve routinely traveled abroad at least once a year, sometimes for work, more often for pleasure. Always, I’ve eagerly anticipated those trips, looking forward to the change in my daily get-it-done pace. The exotic sights, tastes and smells. The brush with unfamiliar cultures and people. The reminder that the way we Americans spend our days and interact with family, friends and strangers is far from the only option. Then came the pandemic. Lockdown. Sealed borders. Now, finally, I’m once again heading abroad. Yay. But am I excited? Certainly, I’m pleased to be notching another victory in my battle against the sense of incompetence and lack of confidence that set in during the years of COVID confinement. Read: Here’s how much caring for aging family members can costNew variables at play Now, however, there are variables at play that weren’t part of the mix when I last crossed an international border in 2018. Back then, my husband and I could travel together with ease. Granted, the difference in our strides (his short, mine long) sometimes required that we separate and go our own ways, then reconnect a few hours later. But basically, we …
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