Takeaways from Croatia & Slovenia

We’re back from Croatia and FINALLY working out the jetlag. Lordy. It had a hold on quite a few of us.  Worth it? Definitely. These two destinations are so very rich; we saw waterfalls, lakes, caves, seaside towns, quaint villages,and GORGEOUS countryside.  We had a great guide and a perfect mix of Travel Sisters, some seasoned, some newbies!  

My other takeaways from Croatia require a backstory:

I grew up as the youngest child in a family of five and my parents decided when I was six months old that we would link our fates to a corporation (Eastern Airlines) and follow jobs and promotions.  As a result, our nuclear family developed a kind of “atomized” sense of identity.  We never really knew how long we would live in a community so we kind of took care of our own and adopted a “if it’s going to be it’s up to me” mindset . . . a kind of radical sense of self reliance.  We did not expect help and we had a very hard time asking for it. In retrospect, it was a very exhausting lifestyle.

I think I carried that mindset into my teaching career and this network.  I assumed as the leader I needed to be everywhere, take care of everyone, anticipate everything.  As a teacher, that kind of held up under scrutiny because I taught adolescents.  Adolescents are pretty self centered (it’s developmentally appropriate, actually) and they don’t tend to care too much about history.  I had to do all the heavy lifting, all the time, to bring my vision to reality.  And it was exhausting . . . and not sustainable.  There’s a reason I cashed in my sick leave and retired two years early.  

The GREAT news is this all female travel network with mature women is a WHOLE 180 degree turn from that!  I realize that if I just step back and create space, the right people will step forward at the right time to help lift this vision.  And it’s amazing.  A couple examples:
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We’re in the Frankfurt airport and we have a 5 hour layover, at least.  I’ve never been in this airport, but I’ve been in many other European ones and often you find that the areas right at the gates can be pretty spartan and there are not many amenities like restaurants and shops.  So you are wise to hydrate, relax, etc. in the larger common areas and then go to the gate closer to boarding time.  Sometimes they do not even announce your gate until 30 min before boarding time.  We were running that play book at my suggestion and relaxing in a lounge area, quite happily I might add, lol.  Picture of me as evidence:

I woke up from my nap and Annette and I went on a walkabout and noticed our departure flight was not listed on the “departure board.” It didn’t set off any bells for me, but it did for Annette.  While I took a detour to find the bathrooms, she decided to take the initiative to ask the customer service desk about the departures board.  And thank goodness she did!  Turns out we needed to go through immigration and get into a whole other EU part of the airport?!  That process took quite some time and THEN after we got to the gate we had to take a BUS to our plane . . . that 5 hours disappeared pretty quickly!  Thank goodness she listened to her intuition that something was amiss, and took action?!  Because that was not on my radar at all.

It also happened on this trip that I needed some support - a little hot tea for a scratchy throat and some better ear plugs (as me AND my roommate discovered we both snore!)  NEVER underestimate the power of collective packing!   Multiple sisters had tea, sweeteners . . . hell one had a dehumidifier?!  Karen had the BEST earplugs (I now have ten pairs for future trips).  At first I beat myself up for not having “all the things” - I mean what kind of leader doesn’t have all the things?! . . . and then I realized THIS is the beauty of the NETWORK.  It’s a net that works - we catch each other, It’s COLLECTIVE safety and security, not bilateral and transactional.  

Another example happened on our flights home. We connected in Newark and we learned why everyone hates Newark.  Our plane was delayed multiple times . . .  you got on a tram AND a bus AND went through security multiple times.  It was just a bit of a struggle and at some point at the gate I just kind of crashed.  Like literally laid down and closed my eyes.  We FINALLY got on the plane and I settled into my seat and what did I hear one row in front of me?  Two Travel Sisters hyping up our network to their curious new seatmate, telling her all about us, asking me for a business card, happily looping her in and making her feel welcome.  I sat back in my seat and smiled, amazed and grateful.  
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You know what?  It’s going to be.  And it’s not all up to me. It’s the fruit of us being US. And it feels like incredible abundance and brings peace.  And I am here for it - hope you are too!

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