Journey vs. Destination

I have often felt that time goes by too quickly, like a merry-go-round that just gets faster and faster. At work, on a Thursday, I’ve wondered how I could possibly get something done by a Tuesday deadline. That was so close I could taste it.

Being on the road for the better part of a month, that feeling is gone. It has been months since we were in Cambridge, years since Washington DC, and eons since Flagstaff. I’ve caught myself wondering if going through Memphis was part of this trip because it seemed so long ago.  Those are crazy thoughts for someone who touched the Mississippi for the first time only two weeks ago.

As C pointed out yesterday (Thursday) that we’d be home next Tuesday, it seemed so far from now. I mean, between now and then we could… well, just insert a crazy long list of things we did over any particular four days of this trip. Oh, I know! We could drive from Minneapolis, through North Dakota, visit Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons, see if there are any police awake in the whole state Nevada, and drive back from Tahoe.

Is this feeling of time-passing-slowly because each day is just packed with stuff?  We haven’t been that busy, I’ve been busier at home trying to meet deadlines. And while I see a lot from the car window, it doesn’t seem like that much stuff, at least on drive days.

Is the time dilation due to the constant low level sleep deprivation? It is hard to sleep a full night in a strange place so we have been skimping a little; it builds up over time. But I’m often a little tired but not usually sleepy and never exhausted. I haven’t even been napping in the car while C drives so I’m not that tired.

Is it because each day is so different? I think that must be it. Each day is an individual, completely its own and not sharing much with the day before. Every day has its own set of sights, neat things to remember about the places we’ve been, and weird food we ate (sorry, we simply cannot leave the land of fried cheese curds now that I’ve discovered them). The fascinating differences (accents, attitudes, landscape) all stick in my brain. I’ve seen more new stuff in the last month than in the last year (or two!).

I suppose the time dilation is probably due to my brain having to carve out more memory space for this trip. With so much entropy, it isn’t going to compress well, not like my normal day at home with the same walls, slowly changing gardens and well-understood plans.

I suppose there is a lesson here. Let me know when you figure it out. I’m going back to sleep for an hour before we head to North Dakota.