Before I went to bed last night I found
enough energy to mostly finish packing my suitcase. Then I woke up
before the alarm at 7. I checked e-mail briefly, placed a hold on the mail, and then shut down
my laptop and packed
it away. I weighed the suitcase and it was around
50 pounds. I could not take the chance that it was over 50 because
then the airport would charge me. But dividing it between two
suitcases would not be tightly packed and secure. So I packed some
of it in a rolling carryon. My supplements were in the carryon and I
wasn't certain they would pass because they weren't in their original
bottles. I repacked the suitcase and a large carryon to
redistribute the items. Food items were the heaviest and were not
allowed in carryons unless medically necessary. Then I had a
revelation – a box! I packed the heaviest food items in a box
with plenty of padding. It became my second suitcase. I began to
relax. I found a strip of fabric to tie around the handle of the
suitcase. I found a return address label to stick on my suitcase.
I ate breakfast and took a shower. I put my fermented coconut milk
in the fridge. I emptied the dishwasher. I packed perishable food
in a bag for Dinah. I swept the floor, wanting to come home to a
clean house. Then I got anxious waiting for her to arrive. I was
ready, having everything stacked by the front door. When she
arrived, I carried everything out and she carried the suitcase. We
put it in the back of her truck. I gave her the bag of perishable
food (tomatoes, squash, broccoli and salad greens). We talked about
driving stick on the way to the airport. She dropped me off in front
of the terminal and waited to see that I could manage it all. God
bless her. I had a box, a laptop, a rolling carryon, a rolling
suitcase and my purse. I went to the checkin counter. I put a tag
on the suitcase. The lady checked it and the box, and printed out
two boarding passes. Then I went upstairs to security. I had no
trouble getting through. I had to take the laptop out of its case,
but not to turn it on. Then I went to my gate and sat to wait for
priority boarding. I ended up sitting by the window with a man who
was very talkative. Basically we talked until the plane took off and
landed again. When I deboarded, I went to the signboard to find out
where the next gate was. I had trouble reading it and a nice
gentleman helped me and pointed the way to the next concourse. The
train was easy to find, ride and get off. At concourse A, I found my
gate but needed a restroom more. I had to ask because it was marked
with a set of pink stick figures instead of the word 'Women' or
'Restroom'. Again there was a wait for boarding. This time I was
seated to a guy who was talkative until the plane took off and then
he got on his laptop. Not sure what he was doing without wifi. I
worked several Sudoku puzzles and did some tapping to clear my left
ear. I was only partially successful. When I got off, I walked to
the main waiting room upstairs. I did not go to baggage pick up
because it was too cumbersome to handle easily and I knew Michele was
coming in an hour and my in-laws would be there to pick us up. After
20 minutes, I decided to at least sit in the baggage pickup area.
When I got there, I sat next to a man who talked about Tampa. Lots
of people were waiting for the baggage lane to start. Not long after
it did, the man got up to claim his luggage. I watched from my seat.
Then I saw a case making the rounds open. I knew someone would be
upset about their stuff strewn around and open to view like that.
Then I realized it was mine. I ran up to the carousel and pulled it
off. The man in front of me helped grab stuff that had fallen out.
I crammed it all back in and shut the case, fuming. I was looking
for the box when I saw Alfred walk up. He brought my carryons over
while I identified the box. He leaned over and grabbed that. A lady
came over and recommended that I file a complaint. So Alfred and I
stopped at the office. They gave me a brochure, with the complaint
number circled. They said I should file after I have checked the
suitcase to see what is missing or damaged, and whether it was
inspected by TSA. We headed upstairs to where Cecily was waiting,
but then decided to take it all to his car instead. Right outside
the terminal the suitcase fell open again. It would not latch.
While we were trying to get it shut securely, my finger got slammed.
It hurt but I figured that would pass. We got one latch to hold long
enough to get to the car. After all the stuff was stowed, we went
back to the airport. I saw Michele talking with Cecily at baggage
claim. I took her pic, then gave her a big hug. She said she had a present for me. We claimed her bag
quickly because it was a small plane from NY. Soon we were on the
road. Michele talked about her job teaching English in Korea. When
we got to the house, Cecily showed her lots of teaching books and
toys that were saved from years ago. Michele gave me two seed packets from Japan. Then we went to Rosa's for
supper. I ordered a Greek salad and some shrimp. Michele got a mint
drink which she had to show her passport for (and which I tasted)
and a calzone which was large enough to feed an army. She brought
half of it home. As we ate and talked, I held my sore finger in my
glass of ice water. It throbbed something fierce. When we got home,
we skyped Chris. Michele was falling asleep so we kept it fairly
short. Chris told us about a large grasshopper that he'd found on
his windowsill. Then Michele went to bed. Cecily gave me a jar to
put coconut milk in and a probiotic tablet (since I don't remember
packing mine). I put the jar in the garage to ferment. I sat
watching Mystery Diners while checking e-mail and trying to compose
this blog. It went on and on, episode after episode. At first I as
not using my finger to type, but made so many mistakes that it made
sense to use and be done. Al and Cecily turned in for the night.
Michele got up briefly at 10 and went back to bed. I decided it was
time for me too.
* Obviously Michele is the best present I could ever get. *
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