Preparations & Expectations

Welcome again to my blog! I will be posting inner and outer journey posts throughout our week in New Orleans. These posts will give you, my readers, a descriptive way to follow along on our journey! This is my first of many outer journey posts.

As the second of January is getting closer, we are all starting to prepare for the trip of a lifetime! As I am standing in my bedroom packing, I can smell the clean scent of laundry detergent on my freshly washed clothes. I can hear the sound of the dishwasher in the other room washing some of the last dirty dishes that will be in my house for awhile. I can see a rainbow of colors in the clothes I have laid out to pack, and I can feel a sense of excitement as I realize that in a few days from now, we will be in New Orleans, Louisiana. I am making a list of things I need to remember to take, double checking it as I lay everything out, and I will triple check as I lay everything neatly in my bags.

Standing here packing short sleeved shirts instead of sweaters I can already feel the sunshine on my arms and my face. Packing dressier clothes for the some of the restaurants I can taste what I imagine the New Orleans gumbo is like and I can smell the creole seasoning. I can see what I envision the melting pot of cultures to look like. I can practically hear the whistle of the train and the inevitable snoring of the guy a couple rows back as I pack my headphones and I can almost taste the snacks as I neatly organize them in my backpack.

But just because I am leaving for a week does not mean that life at home comes to a halt. Everyone at home will still have their everyday life stuff going on. And when we return we are only a few days from the Spring semester beginning and my sister getting married, and more Christmas celebrations with my out-of-state family that will be home for the wedding. So, not only am I preparing for this trip, but because of how close all the festivities will be when we get home I am preparing for school, a family Christmas, and school as well.

Stay tuned for daily posts while we are gone!!


**List
**Whistle