A few years ago, my brother and I was together with our families over Christmas, and we talked about how much fun it would be to do a trip together. It wasn’t the first time we had broached the subject but this time we were more serious about it. When we parted, we had decided to look more into the possibilities of being able to carry through with the trip and to hear from each other again soon. A couple of weeks later the decision was made – the trip would come to pass.

What we had decided was to go to the west coast of Florida over the coming Christmas and New Year’s holidays. We would rent a house and cars and go around and see different places and have a lot of fun. We found an amazing house with a lovely pool, and we booked the plane tickets. In total we would be away for a little more than two weeks.

I remember so well the great expectation that came after all was booked and ready! During the time that followed our families often heard from each other and we planned and dreamed away to the trip we were going to make. And we really considered this as a dream trip. We knew other families who had done similar trips that were very successful so we hoped ours would be that too.

This sense of anticipation we had remained throughout the year that followed before we set off. Practical measures, such as booking rental cars and some of the activities we were going to make, as well as applying for travel permit/visa etc. were done a little now and then, but what was constantly going on was the dreaming, the planning, the thoughts about what it would be like over there on the other side of the ocean.

Looking back at this I see this period of great expectations as a wonderful and significant part of our journey. Together with the trip itself, which by the way was a great success, it was a wonderful and lovely overall experience that we have come back to many times afterwards and talked about and shared the memories we have. The expectations we had gave an extra dimension that I appreciate very much.

Of course, it’s not reasonable to build up such great expectations over a long period of time for all the trips you make. But regardless of what kind of trip you are facing and how far in advance you know the trip will come to pass, the period before the trip itself is significant and something to appreciate. It can simply add value to the entire experience of the trip.