tried and true method, not for everyone

I came across this little ditty when I was looking for something else in my drafts. It reminded me of the days when we used to travel A LOT. Remember:  water polo games, Irish dancing competitions, Coach teaching out of town and I would go along just to hang out in an empty hotel room (wink, wink), and two years ago college visits with Ed? 

It didn't feel unmanageable at the time, but now that we are preparing to go out of town this weekend, and the two consecutive weekends after that . . . I am bracing myself.

It isn't that covid has me freaked out, it's that I'm out of practice. We aren't even flying anywhere, which is mostly what the below paragraphs refer to. Still, it makes me feel tired to think of not being home.

How will the laundry get done? What will our food inventory be once we get home (probably same as when we left since no one will be home - duh)? What about the other stuff I typically do when I'm home? Life is not as completely slow as it was early on during shutdown. We do things like stalk our kid on the tennis team from the comfort of our car. No spectators. Plus I drive to dancing a lot. 

Still, traveling three weekends in a row makes me exhausted and we haven't even left yet.

I was wondering what photo I could stick in here, and then I found this gem. Curly must have taken it with my phone last week. This is Coach and I assuming the usual position: asleep on the couch while trying to watch a movie. How will we survive squeezing travel into our busy schedule? The exercise bike is not usually there, but I am just realizing that I need to explain how that happened. Laundry baskets follow me around the house in case I decide to sort them. It's magic.

We leave Sunday morning to drive to Omaha, NE (the day before you read this) to visit Creighton which is where Coach went to school. Tank, Mini, and Mini's bestie are driving there with Coach and I. We are farming out Reg and Curly to friends' houses. We take a tour Monday morning and then drive back. We are only gone ONE night.

Guess who thought there was no school on Monday? That's right. I may not have screwed up a flight (since we're driving) but I arranged all of this without realizing that the high school is in session, virtually. The kids will miss 3 classes, and they might be able to tune into zoom from the hotel for their first class. Whatevs. Curly is off and she will enjoy the day hanging with her BFF.

To prepare, today I am baking 6 loaves of pumpkin bread (that I just took out of the oven 10 minutes late because I forgot to set the timer - UGH!). We will see our niece at Creighton and will deliver her some pumpkin bread, along with cookies - if I get those baked too. Then the families hosting Reg and Curly will get a baked good too.

The following weekend we intend to go see Ed at his school in Indiana, but I did hear this morning that Indiana might be added to the 'do not travel to list'. Ed's birthday is the 18th and we really didn't visit him last year. He seems stressed out about what we'll do while in town. Walking around campus is enough, we've assured him. Drive there Friday, return Sat after lunch.

Finally, we have scheduled a tour of a school in Ohio for the 24th. 

I always thought having two kids about to go to college would make sense when planning visits, but academically they are very dissimilar. Still, Creighton is a school that they both might be interested in. Tank is working hard to get a rise out of me, claiming Creighton is too small. Insisting I'm steering him one way or the other. Not true. I know he wanted a team to cheer for and not something really small. Creighton has a great b-ball team and it is a little under 5,000. I'm trying to arrange tours of places that might fit the criteria that HE has mentioned. Sigh.

After he complained that Creighton is too small, he texted Eddie to say he's excited about going to see the school after all. I will keep you posted as to whether or not I decide to strangle him BEFORE he has even applied to colleges.

When not feeling overwhelmed by upcoming travel and while wanting to beat Tank with a wet noodle, I read the below and remember with chills the awful thing I used to be a pro at -  SCREWING UP flights, etc.

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You know what's really easy and costs nothing and might come in handy if you struggle in this particular department, or if you are like me and you just want to feel relaxed and enjoy a good night sleep?  I don't necessarily recommend this approach, but it does work.  I'm not sure if the added blood pressure rise would be a wise choice for anyone with a heart issue, so consult a medical professional first.  

Or, if you are like me - consult no one and just stumble your way into this dreaded situation and bask in the freeing aftermath.

Directions:  wait until you are pretty damn tired, and at THAT moment look thru your emails for information on your very expensive upcoming flight.  When the email is either non-existent or confusing or incorrect, be sure to have an available bathroom nearby. 

That, gentle reader, is a not-so-gentle approach to clear up constipation.  Unfortunately for me, it is a tried and true method - if unintentional. 

I have a history of stumbling across information that is difficult to navigate and can instantly lead to panic and abdominal bedlam.  If I am not careful, it might also force me to contact a divorce lawyer because I do not know how many more flight or pre-travel mess ups Coach can tolerate.  This time he grilled me on one important factor:  

WHY DO YOU ALWAYS DO THIS MOMENTS BEFORE IT IS TIME TO GO TO BED?

I admit, it is a valid point, but sometimes when it is time to collapse into bed, I look at my list of things to do and I realize that I failed to get enough of them done and THAT makes me crazy.  (maybe crazier is a more appropriate term for me). . . 

Anyone venturing out to travel some place? Or have you even royally screwed up a flight or gotten a confusing email (remember the one when the confirmation code had a lowercase 'L' in it that I thought was the number 1 - that was all on them, right?). My brother Pat once took his entire family to O'Hare for a flight to Disney, only the flight left from Midway. They made the flight, no idea how. Maybe it's a family thing.