Like a temporarily deflated balloon

This meme pretty much sums up how I feel about travel these days. Maybe it's middle age. Maybe it's the fact that we've been traveling regularly for the past dozen years. I'm not sure of the cause, but this is how it seems to go when travel rolls up on the calendar.

In a flurry of anticipation and excitement, I consult my travel bucket list since I'm still working on traveling to places I've always wanted to see. Petra, Australia, Machu Picchu... And yet once the actual travel date nears, I don't want to be bothered. I don't want to have to pack a suitcase, ride on a plane, deal with different currency and plug/voltage issues for my hair straightener. Once I get there and get going with the touring, I'm fine. But the angst and irritation leading up to getting there always seems to put me in a pre-holiday travel funk the past couple years. Once I visit Machu Picchu next month, I will probably curtail travel for a while to focus on finding our dream retirement home.