They say a picture paints a thousand words…
We arrived at the hotel, exhausted after 14 hours of travelling, and managed a few hours of sleep before our bodies said you need to be awake now. The children slept well which was good it will help with the jetlag Mommy and me slept until 6am but Mommy’s excitement got the better of her.
We left JFK with the intention of staying awake because for us it was red eye flight 1am to 6am but when we arrived in Denver it was 11:15 at night, but both me and Reagan nodded off for a couple of hours. Mommy and Lincoln sat a few rows in front of us, I know Lincoln slept. I am not sure Mommy did. We collected our bags and went to dind our next flight, and of course, my baggage tag didn’t appear at self check so we had to queue yet again.
Once we got rid of our bags we went and got our pants pulled down at an airport bar 38 bucks for a beer, a red wine and two cokes. It was soon time to go catch our plane.
At DIA the pilot welcomed home any returning Denver natives which made Mommy cry. I’d forgotten we had to take a train to baggage reclaim and I smiled when the piano music played. We got our bags and cought a bus to Budget to collect the biggest car ever and after a tortuous wait in line we got to our car only to find it had no windshield wiper so had to go get another car. Mommy did marvellous to negotiate the roads she probably knew really well 15 years ago, to get us to the hotel when she was more tired than she’d been for ages and unfamiliar with the car and after so long away the roads especially in the darkness!
We are now getting ready to leave for THE HUG!
At 30,000ft halfway across the Atlantic ocean, we have just been served beef stroganoff that was palatable…just, the piece of bread it came with wasn’t. The seats are adequate to sit and read as I did for a while and even managed to snooze for an hour but trying to eat with your elbows never leaing your side was a challenge for myself and ghe lady I was sat next to, but we achieved devouring a whole meal without ever touching lol. In flight meals are welcome sustenance and help while away another half an hour of our journey to see Grandma which began for me at 04:30 when I woke and after going to the toilet could get back to sleep. So many things going around in my head about getting out of the door at 11am with everything we need for two and half weeks away, Jamie’s alarm went off at 06:30 and although I think I saw 6am it jolted me awake.
My first priority was Billy and the cat who needed dropping off at pet prison or, as it’s better known, Summerhill Kennels Cattery and Spa, after walking the Billster we loaded up. Mommy was in bits as we left the cat in her new home, having never had to leave her for so long since she was locked in John Garners garage for a fortnight, but that’s another story!
Both of us were then fully engaged in being ready for the taxi and making sure the children were too. By 10:40 we were just hanging around waiting on the taxi turning up feeling like we had everything under control, but when the taxi did not show up, bang on 11 Jamie gave him a call. To our utter amazement, he said he’ll just get his shoes on and be there in a few minutes. He’d got busy at home and forgotten us WOW?
Good to his word, he had us at the airport about the same time as we would have been anyway and making sure he’d be back for us in a couple of weeks we went to check in. Unusually, Lincoln became upset at having to queue almost straightaway and took some managing through bag drop, check in and security, but once we fed him, he came around.
After that, it was pretty laid back, and we arrived at the boarding gate and after finding our seats we all sorted out out in flight entertainment and prepared for lift off….
With work and school finished, we finalised our packing and tried to settle down and get some sleep before an early start to take the animals to pet prison. We will be fine but I feel nervous I had a bath and that calmed me a little but I just need to sleep so we can just get on with our holiday.
All day, I knew I would have to face all the people in the meeting who have made me feel worthless unheard and a dead man walking. All day I felt this tension inside me. I felt hungry even though I had a big breakfast, my breathing was erratic, I felt moments from tears and it was like I was being crushed by the pressure I was feeling, and I was helpless to stop any of it.
By 2pm I was soaked in sweat and had to wash my hands before logging into the teams call, and I just sat there thinking I am going to have to step forward soon and tell them my idea dreading another negative interruption someone yet again not listening to me.
When I heard the words “is there any other business?” I took a breath and began tell the meeting my idea, just to get the words out of my mouth was so difficult because I couldn’t get enough air into my lungs to complete each sentence without taking a second breath. I had prepared all the evidence on the screen beforehand but all of a sudden I could not find what I was looking for and when I did I couldn’t even read the words I written.
I know if someone had interupted me I would have burst into tears, I felt I was barely audible by the time someone said “that’s very interesting we will take that away and discuss it offline” and it was over. I had let them know my idea and that was all I wanted to do even if it was the worst presentation I have ever done. I can’t explain why it has got to this point but it feels so chlostraphobic, maybe frustration built up but I think that was as close to a panic attack you can get without actually having one!
Later I spoke to just the people from the meeting who I actually work with and explained my idea and they fully understood what I was trying to say and were very enthusiastic about it and I guess that’s all I can do I just hope in the next two and a half weeks while I am away they realise I might be on to something and make it work? If they do great, and if they don’t, I probably knew they would do anything other than act on my suggestions…
Well, after yesterday’s shopping for bits and a failure to pack anything today, we got the packing done even though we still have 2 days to go. It means most of the clothes are in but there’s lots of stuff we still need going to have to be packed on Tuesday night or Wednesday morning.
One thing is for certain we will have enough space because our baggage allowance is huge, four people have 23Kg Suitcase, 10Kg carry on, and a personal item. We have not chosen to use all that on the way out, preferring to put a 10 into and empty 23 and hopefully fill both with shopping on the way back?
It is difficult to pack the right stuff when you look out of the window and spring is in the air and it is getting warmer, in my head “holiday” means suntan lotion and beaches but knowing the weather in April can be so polar opposite from one day to the next and eve one hour to the next, also at least 3 days we will be up in the mountains at the Breckenridge ski resort and the hotels have pools we intend to go to hot springs and lots of other things too. I’ve gone with 4 outfits plus what I travel in and have taken into account the fact that Pam has a washing machine and if I need something I can always buy it so I will be fine.
Mommy has had to pack her own stuff and help Lincoln pack his case as well as make sure Reagan realise doesn’t pack everything she owns. All I have had to do is sort out a visa. Literally Mommy has organised everything else for this trip, like a military operation. I am know I could not do what she does every day but I am grateful she does it and we all benefit from her hardwork and organisational prowess
You can only realise true contentment in life until you live with your best friend, I feel pretty contented right now. There is no one I would rather spend time with than Jamie, and today I got to spend all afternoon with her… shopping!
….and I bloody loved it. She is so much fun to be with and I get becwith her all the time, but as the title of this blog suggests shopping is not my favourite pass time but today felt like one of the best days ever?
As normal Saturdays go this was one of them, a lazy start dog walking upto Norman’s Wood breakfast, sopping trip to Crewe for bits needed for our impending trip but Jamie wanted Dr Martin boots so we decided to go to Ellesmere Mere Port to get them. We dropped Reagan off at home because she got bored as soon she realised the rest of the day was not going to be about her, before driving to Cheshire Oaks. We soon realised an outlet version of the DM shop was the wrong place to get a pair of classic 1460s but unphased, I spied an opportunity to spend more time with her so we set off for Chester.
The shop assistant was knowledgeable about the product had time for us and easily made a sale by showing Jamie a size 8 1460 with added DM insole which felt so good she walked out of the shop wearing her new footwear. In need of a burst of energy, Cinabon was our next port of call before returning home to our children who proved they can be trusted alone for a few hours which bodes well for future days out with the best wife in the world!
We made it to the weekend before, and now everyone is excited looking forward to travelling to America on Wednesday. Reagan’s first words this morning when Mommy asked her how many days, was “4 days and 17 hours” haha
Lincoln told us at breakfast he wants to WhatsApp his class from the past when he gets to New York, he has been telling his mates about his holiday. Reagan asked her teachers if she could get the holiday homework early, they told her not to worry about it and excused her because she is travelling to visit family and that should be most important.
Mommy has been organising this trip for months and has smashed it all as normal but when she finished work tonight she was actually dancing with excitement. She told us all what was about happen this weekend cleaning, tidying and packing. We have checked and double checked our baggage allowance and we have so much it is almost worrying. It should not be a problem going out if we can just rein in our beautiful princess daughter and make her realise they have kitchen sinks over the pond, so there no need to pack ours.
I’m excited too, I am really ready to just leave it all behind and spend quality vacation time with my family (now at this point I am dreaming of no arguments or tantrums no sulks or strops and everyone getting along with all our dreams and expectations fulfilled) and just relax…one can hope!
By Sunday I reckon Mommy will have us all shipshape and ready to travel just watch this space!
Although I have known for a long time that my worth at work is diminishing the last few days has opened more eyes than mine. The things that have been said and definitely the things I now have in black and white prove that there is no future for me at my place of employment.
I intend to stick it out as long as they keep paying me but documenting anything of possible importance come the day my job is no longer what I was employed to do…
Reagan lost her PE kit earlier in the year, which Mommy replaced only for her to say last week she can not find her new PE kit, which this time also containing her trainers, which cost £50+ but in true Reagan fashion it’s not her fault, she’s looked everywhere someone MUST have stolen them! She has involved the school in the search and turned up nothing, and if we mention it, there is an argument, we are blaming her when she is not to blame.
This morning, she got together some leggings and a white top to use because the teachers said it would be OK temporarily. She asked me for a bag to put her tennies in so she could carry them to school which I found for her. She left for school at 08:22 as normal but by 08:34 she was pleading with Mommy and me to bring her tennies because she had forgotten them…
This absent mindedness was almost definitely what happened to both PE kits, yet she insists it is not her fault? I would do anything from her. I’d give her a kidney, but she’d probably leave it in the hospital!
I have not mentioned Mommy’s toothache, but it is very sore and needed root canal work last Saturday in the hope that the remedial work would settle the tooth enough to enjoy our holiday but with 6 days to go she went back to the dentist for antibiotics today and we can only hope that the pain subsides by next Wednesday.
I would do almost anything to make Jamie happy, and especially make her well, but the latter I generally can’t do anything about even though I would give her a kidney if she needed one! If I could do anything to take away her toothache, I would do it in a heartbeat…
The doctor called me yesterday to say my lumps were inflamed, swollen lymph nodes and absolutely nothing to worry about and my blood tests were almost normal but for iron deficiency probably caused by my body fighting off an infection. They will check them again in 3 months just to make sure. I’m not sure whether anybody would do anything for me but for now I don’t need anybody, I’m OK!