Let’s Talk About Feelings

Planning this trip has been a roller coaster of emotions since the very beginning. Similar to the 7 stages of grief, we have gone through the 7 stages of pre-RTWing.

Stage 1: Wonder

Time frame: -2-3 years

We were mere dreamers, wondering if it was remotely possible.

Stage 2: Irresponsible and apologetic

Time frame: -1 year

We were about 80% sure we wanted to take the plunge, but we were having a hard time coming to grips with the notion of taking a year off of working and earning an income.

Stage 3: Acceptance

Time frame: -11 months

A trip to Ohio and a good sit-down talk with my parents pretty quickly got us out of Stage 2. They told us that the two best things you can gift yourself in life are an education and the experience of travel.

Stage 4: Excitement

Time frame: -6 months

We moved from 80% to 100% committed. 3 days before our wedding anniversary, we bought our first set of plane tickets as our gift to each other. No turning back now!

Stage 5: Overwhelmed

Time frame: -5 months

Reality set in. So. Much. To. Do. In all of our spare time, we became completely focused on our massive to-do list.

Stage 6: Scared

Time frame: -3 months

We knew enough about each the countries we were going to, to realize that we knew nothing about each of the countries we were going to. Little worries started to creep in. How will we find our way in a new city where we don’t know the language? Are we leaving ourselves enough time in each country so that we don’t feel rushed? What will it feel like to end each day and not have a “home” to come home to? Even though it helped to talk to friends about our uncertainties, most people still didn’t know about our trip, and we felt somewhat isolated with our fears.

Stage 7: Anticipation

Time frame: -1 month

We announced our trip! The word was out and we could talk openly with everyone about it. All of the encouragement that we’ve received really helped us out of that little funk we were having. We were reminded why we were doing this in the first place. Sure, some things will inevitably go wrong, but we’re determined to laugh through them and enjoy every little twist and turn this adventure hands us.

We were lucky enough to spend 12 days with our families in Ohio and Colorado over Christmas and New Years. After getting that much needed time to soak them up and hug them extra tight, we are ready to do this thing!