About 18 years ago my brother and his wife decided to leave their jobs and home and go and travel the world. I was so envious of their freedom, I can remember wishing that I could have the opportunity to do something similar. It occured to me that as Dan and Nicole are getting married in Australia it would be my big chance and probably last chance to realise this dream of travelling, okay, not for a year, but for a month....
They used to send letters from the exotic places they were staying, there was no email in those days, they had to give the address for the local post office in order for them to collect their mail. I used to love their description of the local culture and the friendships they struck up along the way. I would look forward to their postcards plopping through the letterbox.
Now I have the opportunity to go on a mini adventure as Dan didn't laugh when I broached the subject he said 'we've got a backpack you can borrow and we can look after the rest of your luggage until you come back' Trouble is am I too old to stay in a hostel? Will I be safe? Will anyone want to talk to me?
After the wedding I am going to take off, do I catch a bus? When I asked Trudie (my brother's ex-wife) what to put in the backpack I was amazed at how little she took. One jumper, one nice dress, one swimsuit, you have to keep things to the bare minimum or the backpack becomes too heavy.
I suppose if I really hate it I can return to the safety of Dan and Nicole's santuary. But I am stubborn I am, it will have to be really awful for me to chuck in the towel. Also I am so chuffed that Dan didn't take the mickey..