small town girl in the big city: the day before

Tomorrow morning bright and EARLY, I will be boarding the train and heading to Chicago for the week. This will be a week full of firsts for me, and therefore will probably result in many blogs. I have never been on a train before this trip. I also have never been to Chicago. On some of my other journeys, I have driven through big cities, but never stayed there. But this week, I will be staying all week in the big city. I am really excited!

I am going with my friend Rachael. She will have to work during part of the day, but the nights are OURS! We are staying at the Hyatt Regency and have plans for every evening and night. Tomorrow will be a full day of fun for us. And then every afternoon and night we will do something different and fun in the city. And yes, I will probably have to say in the city all the time during these blogs. :)

So the big issue for today is the preparation for the trip. Packing for an entire week is quite a chore for me.

When I go on weekend excurions alone I pack everything including the kitchen sink. Now here I am at home trying to decide what I will need to get by for the next week. Well, don't I need all of it?! I mean, I need every single thing in this house for some reason or another or I wouldn't have it here...right?! That is how I feel when I have to prepare myself for a week away from my house. Apparently, I will have to narrow it down to the essentials, because the train has restrictions on how much you bring with you.

Here's another problem of mine... what to wear!!! I am able to dress myself every morning. I can get up, look in my closet or drawers, and pick out what I want to wear, put it on, and wear it. Now when I have to for five days in a row, we have a problem! Apparently I can only make one clothing choice at a time. I will wear this today...tomorrow...tomorrow...well my mind won't let me choose that outfit until then! I look in my closet and try to find like 6 or so outfits and discover...I HAVE NOTHING TO WEAR! Typical female mentality, I know. But it happens every time I pack, and it has happened again today. Even the cloths I have chosen to pack have seemed to lost some of their glamour to me. They seem a bit duller now that I want to wear them in Chicago. I guess all my cloths are just Southern Illinois cloths. ;)

Now that I own a home, traveling is a little different. I find myself nervous about leaving. Did I turn the stove off? Did I leave one light on so it looks like I am home at night? Was any water running? I didn't leave anything the cat could knock over? Sure my parents will stop by each day to feed the cat and check on things. I just find that to be another thing I worry about when I leave this place for a while.

Ah, the stresses and obligations we must finish before traveling. They seem to never get done, but then, somehow, right before we leave we seem to think that we have it all completed. Of course, after you get a good distance away, you remember something you forgot to do, but can't go back to do it. It happens to everyone when they travel. So stayed tuned this week for some interesting adventures of this small town girl in the big city of chicago. I am sure it will make for entertaining reading.