I’m leaving tomorrow morning for Houston, then Los Angeles, then North Island (Auckland), and then the South Island (Cristchurch). We will cross eight time zones, the international dateline, and the Pacific Ocean. I’m going to leave this chair, this room, this country to take a vacation halfway around the world. It’s going to take around 24 hours to get there. That is a lot faster than a century ago.
I’m going to leave behind three cats whom I’ll miss, a new computer that is giving me fits, and a home which will baby-sit my writings attempts. I’m going to leave behind unfinished stories and the frustration of rejection slips. I’m going to leave behind all hope for routine.
I’m going to leave behind eight inches of snow, the last layer coming this morning. I’m going to leave behind three televisions with recorders programmed for our favorite shows. I’m going to leave behind the birds at the bird-feeder and construction out back where a wooded area once was. I’m going miss my children and grandchildren, but our reunion will be all the more joyous for having missed them.
I’m going where they speak a Kiwi form of English. I’m going to confuse my biological clock and my mind about the names of trees and wildlife. I’m going to see temperate rain-forests and glaciers and hot springs and explore a Maori village.
I’m leaving, but I’m also coming back to the familiar. This trip will only be a break, an interruption, a chance to get my life and my place in the world into perspective. It is a chance to become a fulltime observer and writer who will practice putting her experiences into words. It’s a chance to let my imagination wander and see what it creates.
Travel day will be a strain because of our fears that we will miss one of the four flights. Consequently we’ll spend a lot of time sitting at gates in airports. But once we link up with our tour guide, we will be able to smile. It will be like we are once again in the care of our parents who will do all the worrying. We’ll be free to be children again.
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| Glacier on the South Island of New Zealand-2000 by Jeter Skeet |
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