Wish Me Luck As You Wave Me Goodbye....

Tomorrow I am leaving on a fearsome adventure. I am travelling to a place filled with peril, a place fraught with danger, a place known to strike fear into the heart of even the most stalwart of human beings.

Disneyland.

I am not taking this journey alone. I am traveling with my husband The Architect and our three children (mainly because they insisted on going; I think it would be way easier to travel to Disneyland without them, though possibly there wouldn't be as much point).

What's worse, we are traveling by air. I am terrified of flying with kids. It's not that I'm scared of flying - I quite like an airplane trip when I'm by myself (particularly those cute little meals served in the plastic trays with all the compartments) - but put me on a plane with my kids and I fall apart. I agonize about it for weeks before we leave. How am I going to entertain them? What if their ears hurt? What if they vomit? What if they don't sleep? What if I don't sleep? What if I sleep and they wake me up? What if they sleep on me and I lose circulation and my legs fall off when I stand up? And, worst of all, how hideously awful am I going to feel when we get there, and I have to look after three exhausted children whilst wanting to curl into a ball and die quietly alone in a hotel room???

I know the trip is only a few (dozen) hours and it will be worth it when I get there. But the flight will be repulsive in the extreme, and whilst I could try not think about it until we board the plane, that would be a total waste of angst. So I am torturing myself thoroughly with visions of the horror, and will continue to do so until we have completed are holiday and are safely back home again. Because that's just what I do.

In the meantime, I have been making preparations - packing, buying every possible pharmaceutical item we could need on our trip (because obviously they don't have pharmacies in the United States), organizing a house/Spunky sitter, and giving copies of my passport and life insurance policies to friends in case of accident or misadventure overseas (you know, like getting trampled by Mickey Mouse or hit by a flying roller coaster or being bored to death in a four hour queue).

So if you don't hear from me for a couple of weeks, do not fear. I am having the time of my life with my kids in the Scariest Happiest Place On Earth.

Either that or I am trapped under Donald Duck, flailing helplessly, a chilli dog wedged in my mouth, and cotton candy clenched in each fist.

Either way, I'll have a lot to tell you upon my return.

Happy New Year everyone, and lots of love to you all.