Husband and I drove to Brookings. SD yesterday. It is a seven hour drive. I was very anxious to get going as early as possible.
Husband and I operate at two different places. He is slow and deliberate. I am quick and speedy. I have no patience. He is very patient. I wanted to leave this morning by 7:30. I knew in my heart it wasn’t going happen, even though I had the car all packed up by 7:00.
At 7:00, we noticed that the cat was almost out of food, so I ran to the farm store to get some when it opened at 8:00. I was gratified to be able to listen to The 1812 Overture, compete with cannons as I drove to the store. It helped my frustration immensely.
I often forget that I can move more quickly than most people, in terms of packing and loading the car, doing chores, etc. Husband is thorough. While I was getting cat food, he carefully emptied the fridge of leftovers, washed the dishes, and cleaned the counters. He made some nice sandwiches for the trip. He started packing on Monday, so that was done. I was ready to go before he was, so I made myself sit quietly in the living room while he carefully cleaned the lenses of his glasses, put on his socks and shoes, and got his coat. I reminded myself that one reason I am able to get going in the morning is that Husband gets up before I do makes coffee for me every day.
I suppose it is anticipation that makes me so irritable and impatient when we are getting ready to go on a trip. I think watching someone who operates so differently just amplifies my anxiety to get going. Slow and steady may win the race but it makes the hare a nervous wreck.
How do you prepare for a trip? Are you a tortoise or a hare?
Trail Baboon 
Rise and Shine Baboons,
I am packing now for our trip next week. This is a Tortoise task that requires at least three days and lots of thought and thorough lists. Both my personal belongings and my office need organizing. I always want to be the hare and pack rapidly, get in the car and JUST LEAVE, for Pete’s sake. Let’s go! That results in forgotten stuff and lack of preparation. Even with care and thought, power cords get left behind.
We will stop in Iowa to do a short visit with my mother and give her the cookies she wanted for her gift. Then we stop at a Fareway store to pick up a frozen meat order to transport in our electric cooler (AZ has the worst meat and no traditions like our wonderful Midwest/Central European Butcher’s shops.). Then off through Western Iowa and Nebraska we venture.
We will attempt to leave on Tuesday between snowstorms and outrun poor driving.
OT: This year while getting ready for Christmas and packing I had to cram in some extra Drs’ appointments. Often we complain about the medical system, but my Dr. was so kind in providing thorough care. My Internist, who is on vacation and preparing for her own surgery in early January, ordered tests I needed yesterday and provided a response by the end of the day. This was in response to a difficult medication reaction I suffered for about the last 6 weeks, including elevated blood pressure. Thankfully, everything is fine and the BP is also a response to that medication which I discontinued last week. Her response was so helpful and deserves kudos. I have to figure out how to work the system to tell her clinic how great she is.
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Happy Holidays Baboons.
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I’m more and more a tortoise with regard to packing for a trip. I “thought” I used to be quite organized and could pack quickly back in the day, but maybe I just believed that and took as much time to pack as I do now. Seems like I’m always running back upstairs or downstairs for one or two things, then remembering something else five minutes later.
But for me, planning the trip has always been half the fun. I like to take my time deciding where to go, where to stay, how to travel, where to stop along the way, etc. And don’t get me started on BWCAW trips! I could just stare at the maps and daydream for hours on end. 🙂 Thanks to online maps and folks sharing their photos, I can see pictures of almost any lake I’m considering and photos of most of the campsites on those lakes. Talk about information overload! I used to just pick a route, gear up, and go. Whatever campsite I found at the right time I took, good or bad. Now it seems to be about finding the “best” campsite on the “best” lake while taking the “best” trip.
Chris in Owatonna
Merry Christmas to all the Baboons
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A hare married to a tortoise. Sympathies to you, Renee. We never get to Brookings anymore since my sister moved a few years ago. Grand daughter Lily, whose birthday is tomorrow, had a good first smester in Brookings. Even pulled down a B on the challenging biology class.
I did go over and see the tortoise yesterday wearing a N95 mask. Spent two and a half hours with her. She was more alive and closer to her real self than since she moved in. Maybe my not being there everyday did something, made her less dependent on me I think. But right at the end of my visit she started complaining about pains and other issues, but she was too embarassed to tell the staff, all of whom she knows very well. So I had her lie down and I told them. She had tests this morning early. Waiting for results. Not any big deal I don’t think.
I guess I am going over to my daughter’s tomorrow. She does 8 services in the next three days. Her husband does 6.
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I’m so glad you finally got to see her, Clyde.
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I’ve been the hare through most of our marriage, but everything is amplified now, as Husband has slowed down since the stroke. I often catch myself moving way too fast, but have a hard time slowing it down.
That said, it is usually Husband who is in the car waiting for me at beginning of a road trip. I always think of just one more thing that I need to do, or get.
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I was fast, ran through things, literaly ran through cleaning and such. Always have moved fast, even in Sandy’s and my courtship of 8 weeks. But my sister, the PE major, is even faster and at 79 she still is. My father until he got rattled was methodical. My mother was quick at things but not by being fast, if that makes sense.
One of my brightest memories is when my father and I raced a load of hay, the last of the season, to get it in the barn before rain hit us. When you are high up a hill overlooking Superior and the to the west from which all storms came, you can see storms coming. That was my father energized, and sort of rattled. But we did it, despite the loss of most of the skin on my hands.
Almost every evening in June, July, and Augsut my mother took a walk, often roaming all over our hill, but first visiting all of her plants to admire their growth. It was her wind down. Most nights from the age of about 6 Boots and I went with her. She started out walking rather fast and then gradually slowed down. Strangely on those walks I was patient with her slow pace. Both of my children move at my pace. Sorry for the walk off into nostalgia.
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I love that image over Superior.
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Good Memories Clyde. Thanks for sharing
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And love the image of you and Boots and your mom walking all those walks.
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I am testudinal in temperament and pace. I like to think that also means I tend to be more present, grounded and centered than those who are always rushing ahead. Our society values speed even when speed offers no particular benefit. I find that irritating but not enough to let it influence me.
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And of course, some of us have learned a new word…
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Me too.
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I am tired of the rush, too. I am tired of TV and movies that normalize rush. I was describing myself doing routine tasks or when I move on foot. I don’t exceed the speed limit when I drive, to the annoyance of hosts of people.
I taught myself to keep any rush out of my classroom, to keep it measured and calm and laid back and as much fun as I could. This was based on research about traits the best teachers share in common. Did not try to cover the textbook, except I wrote my own textbooks because none matched what research shows. I also slowed down the pace of learning on some elements, teaching writing mechanics is an example, that research shows works the best.(Teach in short bursts with immediate feedback. No homework on such things. Spread mechanics over a long time, a little each day instead of a “unit” on it.) Drawing/painting/carving i did too slowly. I did not pack my kids lives with too much to do, too many places to go. But I am impatient in lines, why I have taught myself to not rush others, especially the staff who have to face everybody in a rush. I am still impatient, but I cover it by being polite. I try to be early for things, which was my biggest marital clash, married to the never on time for anything tortoise.
I recently had a visit with a doctor who I admired for how patient and caring he was with patients, with me and others I saw him attend beyond the norm. I suppose the pandemic has done this to him, but he rushed through my visit and did not let me ask questions. And we were talking about my life ,and death, perhaps.
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Hi- Merry Christmas Eve!
I’m both as needed. Details slow me down and bog the process… so I avoid those far too often. Only sometimes are they important, haha. I’m usually ready to go and waiting. And it’s not that others are slow, it’s just that they’re doing the details I’ve overlooked.
I am fast at things I’m confident in, and slow on things I’m not sure about.
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I agree with Ben, when I’m confident in what I’m doing, I’m reasonably fast and efficient, but some jobs just should not be rushed.
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Quick and easy.
I also have a prepared grab-and-go bag in the event of disasters. I recommend one for everyone. Blanket, food, flashlight, batteries etc.
I also included a whistle. It would help with calling for help.
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Classic tortoise here. No one has ever accused me of being speedy.
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Change my soft spiri per I Am sure What night adesso Solo su Genova Don period and my iPhone smussar fine mo Manson Rex and Our un iTunes and nel quale il Grip e chance Wakeman ormai Kraft and or siamo mai back period Sao.
I don’t know why sometimes my phone decides to turn on the Italian voice recognition. It’s fascinating.
Anyway what I was trying to say was that I don’t think of myself as speedy or rushing but because I’m very organized I do manage to get a lot of stuff done. That being said, times that I really enjoy the most, which are also very relaxing to me are times where I need to be very patient like when I’m doing Ukrainian eggs or crafting or baking. So I don’t really know how to answer this question.
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That first paragraph is a doozy.
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