There are as many ways to plan for a long trip as there are trip planners. So we are not going to dispense much trip-planning advice here. Besides, we won’t know how well we planned until we get back, right? Only then will we know how many t’s we crossed, how many i’s we dotted, and how well we crossed and dotted.

We will, however, share two bits of advice: lists and chocolate. We’ve never gone through so many paper pads! Lists for the house sitter. Lists for the dog. Lists for packing. Lists for taxes. Creating and checking items off these lists was both maddening and calming. As we checked off, we added more. We created lists by category, only to discover that we had too many categories. List mayhem! But we checked away, and eventually the entries dwindled to just a few things on just one list. Phew. Check “organized” off the list.

How did we survive list mayhem? Chocolate! Very few things both energize and comfort. But I discovered that a well-timed Hershey’s Kiss or other foil-wrapped goodie could inspire me when I reached list-burnout, just as well as it could calm me when I reached list-panic. So, I ate lots of lovely chocolates (December, with its steady supply of treats, is a good month for managing list anxiety) and we mastered the process. Full disclosure—Bob didn’t eat nearly as many chocolates as I did. He’s just more disciplined.

I will miss the chocolates. I will NOT miss the lists!

Sally