A couple years ago at my office we completed a series of questions to determine our Clifton Strengths. Clifton is a guy who came up with this personality test. Like Myers-Briggs, but with a very different focus. The idea (as I understand it) is that we should work to feed our strengths, and we can only do so if we know what they are. My top five are Input (I like to gather information), Communication (I like to share information in the best possible way), Empathy (I cry at movies. A lot.), Arranger (I like to plan things in a way that is ideal but also flexible), and Connectedness (I believe we’re all connected). The one I instantly connected with (no pun intended) was Arranger. Yeah, that’s me, I thought. That’s me planning our vacations.
It has always been that way. I usually come up with a general concept, which Andrew and I refine together. Then I usually take care of lodging, and he usually takes care of travel. But I always do the lion’s share of the planning. Not because he can’t, but because I love doing it. I use my Input strength to gather information on the place(s) we’re going, my Arranger strength to put the plan together, and my Communication strength to share the plan with everyone.
I remember one time when Ellie was tiny, we went on a Fall Foliage Cruise with my mom & dad. The picture at the top of this post is from that cruise, and it’s one of my favorite photos ever (Although cropped annoyingly by the site. It’s in Boston, in front of the Cheers sign). Here are a couple more pictures from that cruise, just because I love them.
By the way, that thing of mine about taking and keeping photos? That’s my Input strength. (Also I just noticed that Ellie has Cookie Monster and Elmo on her shoes. I don’t even remember those shoes!)
Anyway, about the cruise. This was back when the internet was not as robust as it is today, and most of my planning came from books about our destinations. And no one had a smart phone then; I schlepped around a big SLR camera, my first digital one ever. I put together plans for each day, then transferred them to index cards that we could carry around. The itinerary had a general schedule for the day, with deadlines (like when to meet for a shore excursion) in bold. Each day’s card had ideas of places to eat and things to do, important times (when do we have to be back on board ship?), and even some interesting facts if I remember correctly. My dad loved them! I did, too, because of course they were the perfect storm of all my strengths.
All of this to say that my Arranger strength is NOT strong enough to handle what’s happening right now. My plans were not flexible enough to handle a complete cancellation of the cruise, and a ban on all but essential travel. How could they be?
And I’m struggling with it a bit right now. Yesterday was the day we were supposed to board the Norwegian Getaway for a 7-night cruise to the Western Caribbean. Instead, I stayed home and didn’t leave the house the entire day. I didn’t even walk the dog, because Sundays are my day off from that. It was cloudy and cool in the morning, and sunny but extremely windy in the afternoon. So I stayed in.
I did practice some self-care, though. I spent several hours working on our family photo album from last year. I’m actually two years behind, but that’s a story for another day. Putting together photo albums is also a nice result of my strengths. The Input in me likes to take the pictures, and the Communication in me likes to organize them for other people’s consumption. Working on the albums makes me happy, occupies my mind, and puts me in Flow (another concept for another day).
The other rough part of this COVID-19 situation is that we don’t really know when things are going to turn. Yesterday the President extended the country’s 14-day travel ban for another 30 days. I’m doubtful 30 more will be enough. Will we be able to go to England in July? I’m afraid not. Will we be able to visit the European Christmas Markets in December? I hope so, but at this point I’m just not sure.
This will all end someday. And my strengths and I will be ready to tackle the next trip!