From No-Go to Slow-Go

I once heard a description of the stages of travel in retirement as “go-go”, “slow-go” and “no-go”. When I first retired, I know I had many thoughts of traveling domestically and internationally with the added bonus that, as a retiree, I would no longer be bound by the school calendar. Or high travel season prices. We would take advantage of relative good health and high energy and go-go-go.

As it turned out, the pandemic had another idea. Our travel plans quickly became no-go.

Like most everyone - young, old, working, retired - we locked down and stayed home. When we did venture away from home, our adventures were close-to-home and within driving distance. Our re-entry into travel has been gradual and slow. But this past week, Adrien and I made a final leap in our pandemic recovery. We went on an airplane.

It’s been five years since our last plane travel, a 2018 trip to Seattle. Last week we attended a family celebration in Houston. I can attest to an increase in the usual travel jitters when returning to air travel after such a long hiatus. Because several family and friends returned from recent trips with a newly acquired COVID virus, I was acutely aware that the virus is still with us. Deciding to resume air travel came with a maximum of research on whether to wear a N95 mask on the plane or in the airport - both of which I decided to do.

Air travel has undergone some pretty significant changes over the last five years. Having noted the hassles missed connections caused, I was determined that we would fly non-stop. Worth the extra money to ensure we actually got from point A to point B without sleeping over in a terminal. Picking a ticket price that allowed us to at least carry on luggage without extra charge practically needed a spreadsheet analysis. And a tape measure. The rolling bag that I packed for a 3-week vacation in Europe many years ago would be too large and too heavy to comply with overhead carry-on rules. Luckily Adrien’s bag was within the limits; so we both packed a carefully curated set of clothes and shared his bag. Note to self: need to purchase a new, lightweight rolling bag.

Security protocols were less changed. As long as we followed the explicit rules for what could and could not be packed, the screening process was efficient and quick. The horrendous waits in long lines that we had experienced during earlier flights were shorter and moved quickly. We had allowed an hour extra time to get through security; we were through in 20 to 30 minutes.

The pandemic delayed our travel planning. While I still dislike flying and I will no doubt always fight anxiety before and during air travel, getting back on an airplane felt pretty normal. I may be a “slow-go”, but I am no longer a “no-go”.

Where to next?

August

Some people watch for the Back-to-School advertisements to gauge how near we are to the end of summer break. I use crickets.When I can hear the crickets, I know it's time to give some extra attention to planning for the Fall.  It's a bittersweet sound for me; the mornings where I can linger over morning coffee are coming to a close.If you are like me, it is a time when that to-do list becomes ever so much more desperate. The things I put off because I was "on vacation" have piled up. If not careful, I will get sucked into the swirling vortex of wasting every minute of my last unscheduled weeks on errands and chores.For those of us who begin school before Labor Day, it feels like summer has ended - August is not really time off, it's the time before.

The End of a Year

"My" babies are ready to fly to coop. In just 2 days my third graders will bump up to fourth grade.  We're both nervous I think: they of the unknown, me of  fear that the preparations we've made for this day haven't been enough.It has been a privilege to work with these kids.  At times challenging and other times a cakewalk, we started the year as strangers and little-by-little have grown into familiarity.For some, all I can provide is a temporary haven. School should be a safe place, far removed from domestic issues like hunger or poverty or violence.  That has not always been true for all of my children this year, and when the ugliness of  socioeconomic traumas become apparent, words fail. A hug, a quiet word. The ache and worry that this child has been left behind to float through whatever safety net our society provides is overpowering.There have been good times. Last week we looked at a text and the depth of the students' discussion was simply amazing. After a year of hammering students to do something more than retell the facts or plots of a story, it was an exquisite, if momentary high.  They can do it, they can cross over to a real literate life.This week, our last together, has been spent remembering some of the fun and some of the hard work that has been part of our time together. I am not looking forward to the last day with the kids this year; I know it will be a bittersweet day. A day when we all celebrate making it to that 180th day, but also a day when our paths diverge.