Blogger reunion - part deux

Chris’s new job requires him to take three separate trips to St Louis for training, with each trip lasting a week. Which at first made me extremely weepy and bummed out. Yes, I am getting a lot more time with my man now that he’s a nive-to-fiver, but a whole week? That’s a long time to go without seeing his handsome face. Not to mention I’d be a single mom to a teething toddler and a hyperactive dog. So instead of having to run around like a chicken with my head cut off for a week, we decided that his trip away would be a perfect time for Taylor and I to fly to my parent’s farm in Iowa for a week.

Yes. You read that right. FLY. And for those of you that remember the flight from Hell that we took with our daughter last summer, you can understand why I’m breaking out in a cold sweat just thinking about it. And not only was Taylor such a nightmare on that last flight, but at least I had Chris with me to lend his arm as I clawed it for the two-plus hours she howled when we were in the air. So not only am I flying with a non-flying demon baby, but I’m doing it ALONE. Which is why every time I think about it, I stop, slap both my hands on my face and let out a Home Alone scream at the top of my lungs.

And whenever I voice my anxiety to my Mom, she just laughs and recounts the time she flew single with her three kids, Will being an infant, and had to RUN through the Atlanta airport to catch our flight. There’s also an interesting story attached to that trip that takes place with all four of us in the bathroom, Mom and Will in the stall, Libba and I standing outside, and Libba screaming at the top of her lungs, Momma! This is woman is SO BLACK! And my Mom’s heart stopped. And then it was revived when she realized that she still had both daughters standing outside the stall. And that’s why we had to run through the airport.

So, other than the absolute fear of flying with Taylor, I am SO EXCITED for this trip home. We are flying into the Midwest on Friday, August 28th, and staying until the following Saturday, September 5th. Not only is it a treat to see my family and sleep under my old roof, but I haven’t been back to Iowa in a non-winter season since we moved to Asheville six years ago. I can’t wait to show Taylor around the farm. Plus Libba’s flying back for her ten-year reunion, and our trips will overlap for a few days. And because I had so much fun visiting with some of our GHHS Bloggers over Thanksgiving, I’m hoping we can put together some sort of kid-friendly, margaritas-included get together with anyone who will be around. We’ve got a lot to catch-up on, like meeting baby Luke, rubbing a few pregnant bellies, Mo graduating Law School and marveling over Libba’s bling-bling engagement ring.

Alright - So, who’s gonna be around?