I just paid the final deposit for our trip to England at the end of July. I'm really looking forward to this trip. Jeffrey hasn't been out of the country before. He's even a bit nervous about the flight over. But I'm trying to be encouraging and keep his mind focused on other things.

Its been 4 years (November 2001) since I last traveled to Europe. That's four years too long. Before that I traveled at least once per year since graduating college in 1998. Wow! That's quite a few trips, the longest being for 2 months after I graduated.

I miss traveling. I miss going to new cities and countries, exploring, being in different culture. Its an adventure because I never know what to expect regardless how much I've planned.

My interest in travel started back in 1986 when I was going into the 5th grade. My family (Mom, Dad, my brother and me) took a trip to England for 6 weeks. Dad is a minister. He was doing a "pulpit exchange". We basically swapped houses, churches and communities with another family in England. We lived in there house, drove their car while they lived here in our house and drove our car. I dont' know how mom and dad paid for the trip.

They kept telling us (as did everyone else) that this was the "trip of a lifetime". This was a "once in a lifetime experience". I guess I wanted to prove them wrong. So I decided to start traveling to Europe when I got the opportunity. Fortunately, during my years in college I had many opportunities that I seized.

I want Jeffrey to experience the same thrill and excitement I get when traveling some place new. Its more of a selfish desire than anything because I want us to travel more. Actually, I want us to travel a lot.

So this trip, which we're taking with our church choir, is a good step for Jeffrey. Although it is a group trip (I prefer traveling alone or in pairs), it will be a good organized way for Jeffrey to get a taste of traveling.

Now if he can only stay calm for the entire, I think all will be well.