Do You Have Your Suitcase?

Well, we almost didn’t get to Atlanta. At least not the day we were supposed to. Some of you may remember my “knife at the airport” story. Ack. Then there was our family trip to Washington, D.C., when my husband left his driver’s license in the scanner at home, so my brother-in-law Dack drove all the way back to our house and back to the airport with the license. Only an extra hour-and-a-half of driving. And then this summer, my older daughter Annabelle wore a top with some chain embellishment on it that caused lots of issues at security. “We need a female assist” for the girl trapped in a giant fiberglass holding cell while everyone stares at her wondering what she did wrong.

When Dack picked us up to take us to the airport this time, there was lots of joking: “Got your license, Randy?” “Check all the pockets on your carryon, Laura?” “Wearing a metal-free shirt, Annabelle?”

Someone should have asked Maddie, “Do you have both your carryons?”

Because she didn’t. Which necessitated another round-trip to the house in rush-hour traffic.

We got to our gate 30 minutes after our scheduled take-off time. Lucky for us, this was the day of all the FAA problems, and our flight had been delayed. This is the first time I’ve ever been grateful for a flight delay!

After a full week in Atlanta (including a beautiful wedding for my nephew Gabriel and his bride Andrea, a fun Thanksgiving, tons of card and dice games, time with all my fun and wacky relatives, and so much food that I still have a stomachache), I’m back home and behind in all my work.

I knew when we decided to go for a week that I’d have to work some during it, because I have two book deadlines zooming toward me in the first half of Dec. And, of course, there’s NaNoWriMo. But I hardly got anything done. At home, I’m so disciplined. On vacation, not so much.

So, if I sound overwhelmed and frantic for the next two weeks, it’s only because I am:>)

But I’ve missed you guys and it’s good to be chatting with you again!

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