why is vacation so exhausting??? (part 1)

On the morning of May 17th, I was planning on staying on the East Coast for the summer. I had every intention of going to the Mt. Tabor conference for one day. Then everything changed.

It was a typical day of telemarketing. I was poking around online. All of the sudden, I was like, "I wonder if there's anything out there that I could make work to go to Seattle for Memorial Day weekend." See, there's been lots of talk in the Kirkland area about getting me back there. I have been resisting because plane tickets cost SO much and there's the whole job issue, so I just put it out of my brain.

Well, as it turns out, a search on Orbitz.com revealed that tickets had come down. I could spend as little as $300 and not have to miss work. Hmmm, I thought. I could do that. But I was at work, and without a credit card. So I said "Lord, if I'm supposed to go to Seattle, there will be something available when I get home." and left it at that. I got home that night, checked my finances & logged on. There was a ticket! I was thrilled & promptly bought it!

But here's the thing. I wanted to surprise everyone in Kirkland - well 2 people specifically: PF because he's been all over my case about coming back, and C because I thought it would be a fun surprise for her. So I texted B & BT and said "I'm coming, but I don't want anyone to know." They promised to keep it a secret. And then I didn't tell any of the kids here because I didn't want it showing up on Facebook and spoiling the surprise.

It was a fun secret to keep, but I was so worried that someone was going to ask me a direct question. And then, a week later, I woke up with an allregy or cold or something. It totally wiped me out. I didn't miss work cuz I wasn't really sick, but I was exhausted. Finally made it to the Thursday before my trip. By the time I went to bed, I was almost completely packed. I woke up early on Friday morning. Before my alarm, apparently too excited to sleep. I made my lunch and finished packing and was early for work. What's up with that? I am never totally & completely packed so far in advance of my trip. It actually freaked me out a good deal!

Work was fairly quiet. Everyone else, i.e. the people I was calling, had already started their weekends. Finally at 3, they let us go because nothing was happening. I went home, ran some errands, checked-in online, ate dinner. I was really antsy to get to the airport because, well, because I was really excited that I was going to Seattle and I didn't want tto be late. Or something. I can't really remember what it was all about, but finally we were on our way. M&D dropped me off at SYR around 6:45 for my 8:30 flight.

An earlier flight to PHL had been delayed, but my flight was supposed to be on time. I'm not sure how it all shook down, but the announced that everyone who was in the waiting area was to board this completely different flight to PHL, which ended up leaving right around 8:30 anyway. Had 2 seats to myself. I read Vogue & chewed gum and about an hour later, we were in PHL. While there, I finished reading Vogue, had some water, and texted B.

After a gate change, we finally boarded. I was in the back row with 2 guys, but the guy across the aisle had 2 empty seats. I ended up moving over there. Hey, a cute guy should not have to sit by himself. And it was either me or the mother with a 2-year-old. All 3 guys thanked me. :) Other than the fact that we were late leaving, the flight was very uneventful. I slept off and on, as did the cute guy. He let me have the window seat for the descent into Seattle. All I saw were clouds. :(

Not sure how this happened, but we left PHL late and landed in SEA early. Early, as in 1:30 a.m. instead of 2. I also landed the phone number of the cute guy from the plane. B picked me up outside. We got back to her place and snuck in through the garage. All 3 girls in the den stayed asleep and so did C. Of course, sneaking up 3 flights of stairs in the dark does not give one the opportunity to reach a conclusion about the asthetics of the brand new house of ones best friend. :)


xo