Travel Anxiety

I’ve got four days before I leave for China. Thursday would ordinarily seem far away and yet I’m already suffering from travel anxiety.

The funny thing is that I’m not at all afraid of flying. I trust when I leave the ground that I’ll return to it safely. Even a long stretch in a plane doesn’t faze me.

I don’t anticipate any trouble in China, either. I can find my way around just about any city. In fact I had to laugh at my New Jersey coworkers when they were befuddled by the PATH train process that I can practically sleepwalk through by now. I’ve gotten used to being put into unfamiliar territory and learning how to quickly fit in.

What really worries me is not the things I’ll see and do when I travel. What worries me is the things I’ll miss while I’m gone. Eleven days is a long time to be away from the wife and kids. Eleven days is a lifetime to a kid, especially. Its hard to hug a family with arms half a world away.