Single-digits

I could have called it.  About a week ago the pre-trip anxiety kicked in, subtly at first but then with a massive crescendo which had me turning off Teams and email at work and crying on the floor of my home office.  It started innocently enough, with me wildly nesting...cleaning the house (yes, during lunchtime the light in the bathroom was perfect to do a deep bleach, then the next day equally good to do a top to bottom scrub of the kitchen).  But yesterday, with only 6 work days to muster through, it all came tumbling down and I'd had enough.  I cannot handle the work angst and my own.  And then I realized, in a week, I shut the laptop and go.  Phew.

Full on prep mode has begun.  Safari clothes are laundered and folded.  160 pounds of cat litter delivered (hey, if you're a cat owner going away for 2 weeks, you know...) and all the prescription cat food is in the house.  Today I packed my toiletries and camera bag and printed out everything I need with me, including the eTA which was ridiculously easy to get!  And I've downloaded a ton of video in the event that I don't have in-flight entertainment (hey, it happened to Kim!).  I'll finish off the clothes selection tomorrow and charge batteries and wipe memory cards later this week.

I flipped back to my prior posts and had to laugh because at this time last year I was reminding myself not to flip out.  Because that is EXACTLY what I've been doing this week.  Pre-trip anxiety is caused by my endless worry.  About leaving the cats, my mom, my job (damn, a system about to go-live and I'm missing it!) and then the Boston winter weather, the flight connections.... ooooof.  It's a lot.

That said, I'm really excited about this itinerary, about seeing Ping again and about my combination of camps at my favorite place in the world.  The Maasai Mara is what I dream about when I dream about safari, and it's waiting for me.  I've been following a lot of photographers on social media and Nashipae and her cubs are still together...will they hold it together until I get there and will we find her?  I hope so.  But if we don't, I know Mother Nature has a whole lot more in store for me.  Every day different.  Every day a miracle.

As per usual, we have a cold snap setting in here this week which will see us hold steadily in the 20s with a windchill that feels as if it's in the teens.  That's firmly "stay in on the treadmill" weather for me, so unlikely I will get outside this week.  But lo and behold it's 80s during the day and sunny in the Mara and the El Nino rains of last year are long gone.  Sun and warmth await me.  Big sigh.

I saw a reel on Instagram today that I reposted: "If I have ever seen magic, it has been in Africa."  And that is what keeps me awake with wonder and excitement.  As if I'm 6 years old on Christmas Eve again with that same sense of expectation that won't let me fall asleep.  That magic is waiting for me.