I’m traveling to Norway this summer to visit a few friends. It’s still hard to believe it’s actually happening. It’s been on my list since my semester abroad in Australia back in 2004.

I traveled to Australia in the company of two good friends from the University of Idaho with whom I planned the whole semester. We lived with two Norwegians who didn’t know each other prior to that time. I’ll save the details of that semester for another post because it’s so dear to my heart that a brief tangent wouldn’t do it justice.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I’m on summer break. So I have plenty of time to prepare for my trip in a few weeks. Oddly enough, though, I found myself stressing about the things I should do around the house and the preparations I should make for the trip earlier this week.

I started making a list hoping that would ease my nerves but it only exasperated the situation. My thoughts were scattered and the list felt contrived and forced. So I abandoned the list and went about with my aimless day trusting the anxious feelings would soon subside.

Here I am, five days later and my prediction proved true. I came across my partly written list just yesterday and realized that nearly all the items had been completed and the ones that hadn’t were no longer important. They happened in their own good time and not on my self-induced, regimented schedule. I allowed it to flow,  and all was well.

It took me back to the winter break before my semester in Australia. My two friends from college were working multiple jobs while I had little with which to occupy my time. My existence at that time felt so purposeless, especially when compared to my friends’ experiences. What I didn’t realize was that I was being prepared for the life that lie before me in Australia.

The laid back, “no worries” attitude was especially prevalent on the college campus and my two friends didn’t know what to do with themselves. To go from a 40+ work week to little to no structure left them floundering the first few weeks. Meanwhile, I was able to fall right into step with it.

I can feel that same internal prep happening now in advance of my trip to Norway. I’ll be flying solo, especially in Trondheim, where my friend is married with three kids. I’m staying in a hostel there, and I anticipate doing much of my exploring there on my own. Oslo will likely be better because I’ll be staying with my friend there. But she’ll be working, so many of the days will be on my own.

Instead of forcing a routine on myself this month, I’m going with the flow and allowing life to unfold as it will. As strange as it may sound, this is probably the most important vacation preparation task I can undertake.