Gettingbackto Normal

By StephanieDarbyCoombs

After three years of waiting for life to get back to normal, the waiting is finally over. Not sure if we actually are back to normal yet, but I do know that we are at least trying. So with a mixture of holiday excitement and Covid anxiety, I have booked my first trip on a plane in four years: an all-inclusive vacation for my whole family!

In just a few weeks, all five of us will be on a direct flight into sunshine, sand, and luxury as we fly into beautiful Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic.

The hunt for summer dresses and comfortable sandals has officially begun. What I can’t dig out of my closetand still fit in to - will need to be replaced with new preboarding purchases, and a fun-filled trip to the local mall. I have forgotten how much work it is to get ready for a trip, especially since it is never just me whom I need to prepare for. But I guess that’s what being a wife and mother is all about. Or perhaps, more accurately, what I am all about.

I have to confess that I am not 100% normal. I do have this sick need to always be prepared, and that includes making sure my whole family is prepared, despite the fact that they are all quite capable of getting ready themselves, including my fifty-two-year-old husband. For the most part, they will make sure they have the things they need, or at least what they think they need.

In their defense, they have already started some shopping, but I just can’t help involving myself in this process, to make sure they think everything corresponding to my list such as shorts, swim suits, sandals, and appropriate clothes for dinner…. And then of course there are the non-clothing items.

Most of that will be my department. I will be the one to make sure we have enough sunscreen, shampoo, and enough over-the-counter meds for every possible ailment I can think of - from allergy relief, to rash cream, and of course every form of cold and fever treatment.

A little obsessive? Paranoid? Control freak? Take your pick! I could be described by all three. But that’s it. That’s me, and I’m too old to change now. In order to relax, I need to make sure everything is packed and organized and crossed off my detailed list.

Now that the snow outside is finally starting to melt, and spring is slowing poking up its head, this long awaited trip will be even more rewarding. It is not just the trip back to normal after Covid. For us here in Newfoundland, it has been a long winter. Too long. There is still four feet of snow in my backyard!

My fifty-five year old aching joints are also longing for some intense heat to heal them, if only for just a week. And while a romantic escape for just me and my husband would have been nice, a trip with my adult kids will be a wonderful opportunity to re-bond in a place where we can all just relax and be tended upon. We all need a break from the cold, as well as a break from university studies and 40 hour work weeks. For me, it will be much more than that even.

I can’t wait to just live like royalty for a week. Seven whole days of no laundry, no cooking, no making beds even!

Now that’s a holiday!