There was a time when my job demanded air travel on Sunday and Friday every week. I would travel to the client’s site on Sunday, drive up to an hour further upon arrival at the airport, and reverse the process on Friday. My social life came to a screeching halt. I barely got groceries purchased, drycleaning exchanged, and hair cutting accomplished over the weekends at home.

Since November my husband and I, or just I, have been traveling at least twice a month. It is April. I’ve just returned from my second cross country trip since the beginning of March, and I’ll travel half-way across the country from the west coast to Chicago in 10 days. I’m tired and my husband has gotten a wicked cold.

Some of this travel has been for pleasure–family weddings and birthdays, a wonderful trip to Egypt in January–and some for work, my work as adjunct faculty at an online university. All of it is stressful, particularly since the advent of long security lines, the necessity to disrobe and rerobe at the beginning and end of these lines, planes with less and less leg room (I’m 5′9″ and my husband is 6′), connections that are scheduled too close for us over 60s to run from one gate or one terminal to another in 20 minutes, and other hassles related to air travel. We put on our virtual patience helmets when we leave the house and try to leave them on throughout our trips.

Last weekend, on our trip to the Washington DC area, I could feel my patience unraveling as we sat in freeway traffic at the end of a very long day. I could also feel my body rebel against the stress of the kind of life we’ve been leading over the last 5 months. My neck is seriously stiff. My shoulders are hunched close to my ears. My wrist is screaming due to both lugging bags too far and already suffering from carpel tunnel. My good eating habits go all to hell when I’m tired. And exercise? Other than walking along endless gateways and getting in and out of cars, forget it. When I get where I’m going, I just want to go to sleep.

I don’t imagine this is any easier for 30-somethings. I do imagine that the diminished physical capability of us over 60s makes this kind of activity even more stressful than for younger people. It is my choice to do what I am doing and I look forward to NOT doing it as of the end of this month.