Ethan’s Journey

 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...

 One thing I like to do on the weekends is sit across from Paul on the couch. We chat, but then I start sending him funny or gross videos so I can watch him react. The fun part for me is He then makes me laugh with his reaction and now I want to send him more videos. Sometimes I find stuff that is handy or looks interesting.it it is anything about bridges, for some reason he is fascinated by bridges.  We visited with our friends from a land far, far away (about 3 hours). We see them once every year or two. Friends from college make it seem as though no time has passed. We pick up where we left off. Our kids and pets get older but I just either don’t feel older maturity wise. I do FEEL older when I get out of bed. I do feel geriatric on some days. Those are the “Paul get the shotgun and a shovel.” Type days. We went to breakfast. The waitresses were dressed in their at. Patrick’s day’s finest. It was cute. We had some good conversations. Grant got to meet Jiminy. After the blan...

 Paul did not follow directions last night. I asked him to lock the dogs up before he went to bed. When he wasn’t looking, Moe snuck upstairs and quietly invited himself into the bed. I was sleeping so I didn’t notice. I woke up in the middle of the night and Moe was snoring in my face. Part of me is proud of him for being so sneaky, the other part….i don’t want him in the bed snoring in my face. Early this morning I hear this snorting noise. It was Moe making a gross noise. Paul started giggling as it woke him up too. A man giggle makes me giggle. The two of us giggling in the dark at 4 in the morning. “You failed your task last night.” I lovingly pointed out. “How does it feel to wake up as a failure?” I asked him in a completely monotone voice. Moe made more snorting noises and we continued to giggle.  “He was sneaky.” Paul responded. The dog snoring continued along with occasional snorting. This dog!!!! Ethan and I headed off the the lab at 7:30. He has timed tests so he n...