The Nervous Traveler by Jana Richards

Photo by Osman Yunus Bekcan on Unsplash

 Margie Senechal's post last Friday about flying east to meet with some of the other Word Wranglers got me right in the feels. I would have loved to join them, but the idea of crossing the border (I'm the only Wrangler living in Canada) and the logistics involved in such a move, were more than I'm ready to tackle at this time. Officially, the Canada/USA border is still closed to non-essential travel (i.e. tourism and recreation) and has been since March 2020, though that is beginning to change. I can't drive across the border but I can fly (don't ask me why flying is okay, but driving's not.)

But to be perfectly honest, I'm not sure I'm ready to get on a plane just yet. The thought of a crowded airport, and an even more crowded plane, makes me break out in a cold sweat. I may be inflicted with a little bit of "cave syndrome" even though I'm now fully vaxxed. So, I'll have to cheer on the Wranglers from afar and hope we can do this again some time in the future.

Margie mentioned that she and the Wranglers were planning to do some writing on their retreat in North Carolina. I love writing retreats and miss them desperately. One of my writing groups, the Saskatchewan Romance Writers, normally meets twice a year for a retreat, but with the pandemic, retreats have been cancelled like so many other in-person gatherings. It's been over two years since I've been on retreat. Way too long. 

We get together at a retreat centre in Saskatchewan where each of us can have our own room. During the day, we can write in privacy and quiet. This writing time is precious to me. While I'm there I don't have to worry about the day job, or cooking dinner, or tossing a load of laundry in the wash. My only job is to write. In the bubble of the retreat, I only have to think about the story I'm writing. I find it very motivating and freeing. 

As great as having the time to write is, meeting with writer friends during meals and in the evenings is even more fun. No one "gets" a writer better than another writer. No one understands like another writer that when we're lying on the couch, staring into space, we're actually plotting. It's fun to talk with other writers about our characters as if they're real people, because to us, they are. I especially love bouncing around ideas for stories with my writer friends. They give me all kinds of invaluable feedback.

So, I was excited when arrangements were made to hold another retreat in Saskatchewan in October 2021. I can drive the 800 km (roughly an eight hour drive) to get there. Thankfully, no airports will be involved. Now I'm keeping my fingers crossed that everything goes according to plan. And I'm ordering a new supply of masks.

Am I the only one who is nervous about traveling? Or are you more than ready to go someplace, anywhere?