Mark's Blog

It is not the last minute before our trip, but because Sherrylee and I will be doing these things in that last twenty-four hours, I’m going to write about them now!

1. Check in online before you go to the airport, if possible. It’s not always possible because of the information the airlines and the government must collect for overseas trips and sometimes for security reasons, but if it is, do it! It will save you standing in lines that are unpredictably long and watching your two-hours lead time at the airport dwindle to a panicky thirty minutes before you board your plane!
2. If you haven’t started packing yet, get the suitcases out—the smaller ones—and start putting the clothes you are taking near, if not in, the suitcases. Allow yourself at least a couple of hours between packing and closing the suitcase to walk out the door. If you wait until the very last hour to pack, you will forget something!!
3. Get your quart-sized plastic bag and put all of your liquids in it to make sure it all fits.  If you need to purchase travel size deo or shaving cream or toothpaste, then put it on the final shopping list.
4. Go to the store only once today and do it at least 2-3 hours before you leave for the airport.
5. Decide which lights to leave on, which timers to set, and where you are leaving a spare house key for emergency purposes. You may want to unplug most other electrical items, just in case of a power surge. I usually turn our home computer completely off.
6. Think ahead about the weather at home and prepare your house for it. Do you need to maintain a certain temperature to keep things from melting? Freezing?  We’ve had wax decorations melt in the Texas summer as well as unexpected freezes that would certainly threaten your pipes if you don’t have a minimum amount of heat still on in your home.  Make sure you set everything appropriately as you walk out the door.
7. Go over your checklist one more time, but realize that everything is no longer of equal importance! At this point the highest priorities are
   1. Tickets, Passports and documents
   2. Money—however you decided to carry it
   3. Medicines

The nice thing about international travel these days is that if you suddenly need a jacket and you didn’t bring one, or if your battery-operated toothbrush gets turned on accidentally in your suitcase and runs completely out, you can find what you need in the airports or wherever you are going.

I have a friend who always said that any problem that can be solved with money is not a real problem! I’m not quite sure that works for every situation in life, but it is very true about traveling overseas. Having said that, those items in #6 are much more difficult to remedy, so double-check those before you leave.

Then walk out the door! We always feel this great sense of relief when we leave for the airport because whatever is not done will not be done, and whatever is forgotten is either unnecessary or replaceable when we arrive at our destination.

If you have done a little planning, started a little early, not left anything too big until the end, then you should be able to board the plane ready for a great trip.

There’s a sermon in that last sentence somewhere!