Even when I was little I was a worrier, a list maker, and a planner. I ALWAYS had to have a backup plan. If anything happened to Daddy and Mom, I knew that I would call my Uncle and he’d know what to do. He’d take us in, care for us, and love us like his own. Aunt V would love us the same way. I’ve never known a day when I didn’t have a plan or wasn’t practical. I had a plan. I was eight years old.

“Winging it” does not come to me easily. Actually, until recently it was a totally foreign phrase to me. Even now I have to remind myself that it’s okay to be spontaneous.

Recently, my friend at work just made the decision over dinner on a Friday night that YES, they should pack up, get in the car and drive to Florida. They (he and his wife, their three children along with their friend and her two kids) were on the road by 9:30.  Just like that! I marveled at that and was a little jealous of his joie de vivre! Later, when I expressed my envy to J, he looked at me with a look of astonishment and said, “You can do that.”  Oh my gosh, he’s right; I CAN do that.  All I have to do is say to him, “Let’s go. We’ll call in from the road.” and he’d be right there warming up the car.  Someday I just may do it!

But first I have to make a list of what to pack.