Ethan’s Journey

  Diane ended up taking us to the airport this morning. She volunteered. It was bitter sweet. She was making us laugh in the car.  TSA was not bad at all and we breezed right through it. There was a large man in front of me that had the unfortunate experience of being patted down. The TSA man assured the guy that he was using the back of his had as if that somehow made it better in his groin area. We had several baby’s on our flight. Andy looks around and says: “Where is this flight going? Epstein Island?” We laughed. So inappropriate. We arrived in Miami and it was actually pleasant outside. We had to get off and on the plane outside. That always seems so exotic to me. We had a 5 hour layover. Ethan was texting us. He was tracking our flight on radar and giving us updates on the dogs. We saw a lot of interesting people, interesting outfits, and interesting behaviors.    There was a girl wearing these odd shoes that I described to Paul as “camel toe” shoes. On guy I ...

 I woke up at 4:30 am prior to my alarm going off. I just had the swirling excitement that it is finally time to go on vacation tomorrow! I think I smiled all the way down the stairs, greeted the dogs happily and let them out. I may have been merrily skipping like I was as light as a feather. Paul picked up Andy and Diane’s passports last night so I can do a seamless check in for us all.  I poured my coffee and watched the clock so I could check in right at the 24 hours prior to take off.  I went to arrange the passports so I could take pictures of them and expedite the process. I opened Diane’s last. You can imagine the feeling of wanting to vomit out the horror when I saw her passport was expired. No! No! No! Ugh!!!!!! Maybe she gave me an old one? I immediately got online to come up with solutions. Is there a way to fix this? I found a place that does a 24 hour turn around. Yes! Let’s explore that.  I watched a video, read how it worked, read some reviews, searche...

 I played catch up at work today. I needed to. While I was doing that I had 8 new positions open up! Ugh! I can’t imagine what things will look like when I get back. Moe has his vaccine appointment tomorrow. I am hoping he does ok. But I am a little nervous. Our bags are packed with the exception of our last minute items. The alarm is set to check into our flight, tomorrow at 5 am.  Everything seems like it is on target. Phew! My goal is to make things go smooth for everyone. One more day to make it through.

 I received a text message from a coworker on my team. She is an absolute doll! She sent me a picture of runny stool and then a picture of blood in the snow. There was no caption.no words. These are the funniest texts to me. I did what anyone else would do. I zoomed in on the stool. You read that correctly!  She has a puppy less than a year old. I knew immediately that the dog ate something he wasn’t supposed to. This was not a blockage or severe illness. This dog is just a doofus dog that eats things he shouldn’t. She did try to take him to the vet, but she got hung up in traffic (she lives in a major city) and was 10 minutes late for her appointment. The office told her they could not see her. She said she sat in her car and cried for 20 minutes in the parking lot. I sent her several questions. She answered them. I gave her my thoughts on what I would do if it were my dog. I also gave her instructions to go to the vet if certain situations occurred. No bloody stool since! I ...

Happy St. Patrick’s day! My Aunt made a good point! On St. Patrick’s day EVERYONE is Irish! My favorite Irish contribution is the Irish goodbye. I have perfected this technique over the years! There was snow on the ground and it was snowing sideways. YUCK!  Ok Mother Nature….simmer down! I had my annual review today. It went well. I learned that I had an “infamous” email that I sent out. “Is that good or bad?” I asked. Apparently it was a good email PHEW!  I needed to be reminded of what email that was. Apparently it was a email that I created to educate and share a process. It was deemed quite helpful and was escalated up the chain to the big bosses, big boss and beyond. Nice! I helped people and had not idea! That could have gone either way really! I am not shy about sharing my thoughts or feelings about things at work, or in general. I have learned it is kind of an art form. It has to be done with curiosity and kindness. Glad it paid off in this instance. Meanwhile in Denve...

 Our power went off three times over night. Around 8:00 am it started going off and on like a light switch. I lost count after 15 times. Every few minutes it would go out for a minute and then turn back on. It wasn’t ideal for making internet calls. I felt tired today. I have the pre-travel lists I am going over in my head. It seems like my brain thinks it is life or death if we forget something. As if we can’t purchase whatever it is we need. I know it is unrealistic. But somehow the lists keep happening. Avery arrived in Denver today for a large physics conference. She is presenting with her professor regarding the research she did last summer.  It is the first time she has flown without a parent. My baby is growing up! I have declared war against mice in my basement. Patti 3, mice -0. Since everyone knows that mice can come back to life at any moment (my unrealistic fear) I have Paul discard them. I just don’t like mice. They move too fast and they carry and spread diseases...