Our new word for traveling is officially called groveling. Where do I begin? Yesterday was the most gorgeous day of all as we packed up to sadly leave Nantucket and embark on a horrendous journey of ferries, taxis, planes, shuttles and trains.
I should have known, when we almost missed the ferry, that the day was going to be a long one. Never having a solid grasp on time, I went to feed the children before being sucked into the black hole of travel. We raced up the ramp to an irritated boat guy who was arguing with my mother about whether or not he should let us on, in the end the kids looked so cute that he couldn’t say no.
We went to the top deck of the ferry and sprawled out to enjoy the sun and the wonderful fresh air. As my mother and I recapped the past three weeks, holding on to the stories before they slipped into the fabric of memories gone by, Tucker appeared to tell us that his body felt all achy. He was breaking out in hives and I got worried thinking that I had failed on my duty as tick sergeant. I went running to boat guy to grovel and beg him to let me into the secured baggage storage so that I could get my tweezers out to perform surgery on these two little black spots on Tucker’s tummy that suddenly looked like deeply embedded ticks that I had originally misdiagnosed.
Tucker was so brave as I dissected and removed his spots in front of the other passengers. When I finished picking I heard what my mother had been trying to tell me all along that the hives were probably from a plant he was sitting next to while waiting for the boat. “Good to know,” I said as Tucker walked away with two freckles less than before. Can’t be too careful can we?
When we finally got on the plane we sat on the runway for two hours due to mechanical difficulties and of course we missed our connecting flight to Aspen. Arriving in Denver at 12:30am I waited in line at the “customer service” desk. Tucker whimpered by my side with his little rocket pillow in his hand and suddenly the line opened up like the red sea and everybody pushed me to the front, “get that little boy to bed,” they said sympathetically. I wanted to put my hands together and say Namaste but decided against it.
Off we went in the rain to the hotel motel Holiday Inn, say Waaaaa???? I do not lie when I tell you that we were moved into three different rooms for one reason or another and as we shuffled from room to room we passed the many policemen who seemed to be very busy, why? I’ll never know.
Each time we moved we ran into our new Engineer friend who had been sitting in the seat in front of my fidgety kids as the plane sat on the runway. Thankfully he had a good sense of humor as he recounted his experience with the kids hanging upside down, kicking his seat and disturbing his peace. Each time the elevator doors opened and we saw each other standing there we had to smile. “No soap in my room,” he reported. “Our room was unmade,” I reported back. “Need a toothbrush,” he reported the second time. “The second room was occupied,” I reported back.
The kids, recharged from room hopping, were mesmerized by the remote control used to regulate mattress firmness and as I lay next to Axel allowing the deep slumber to take me away from it all I could feel the mattress moving underneath me and Axel’s little voice saying, “You’re 70% firm. Now you’re 40%. Now you’re 20%,” until I lunged for the control and demanded that he get some rest. Finally, finally, everybody fell asleep.
Six hours later I roused the children from their sleep. Axel sleepily took a glass of water from me and went into the bathroom. A few seconds later we heard a huge crash and a groan and ran in to find him laying face down on the floor, lifeless. Whether it was from getting up too fast, dehydration from traveling or pure exhaustion I do not know but in the few minutes that it took for him to come to I swore that the first thing I would do when I got home was to schedule a full exam for my little Axel who never seems quite well.
After that things went quite smoothly until Brevitt noticed that our plane to Aspen was circling around in the air. “What now?” I moaned and then we heard the announcement that a plane on the runway needed to be towed off and that we would probably have to return to Denver. “Oh no we’re not,” the kids and I protested. This trip needs to be over NOW! We held our head in our hands and prayed for the plane to be removed and miraculously it was and we landed and we were home.
And tomorrow? I turn around to do it all over again to attend the BlogHer ’10 Conference but this time I will be with me, myself and I and we usually get along really well when we are all on our own. Oh and I’ll be with you too of course as I write to you all about the weekend. If all goes well, it will begin with the Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia “Bloggers’ Night Out party tomorrow night, so stay tuned and good bye to Nantucket, Melanie and my mother, I’ll miss you dreadfully!
My mother’s bench in her garden with Lilies growing through the cracks
So glad you made it home safely. Hope you enjoy the blog conference and the night out. Lord knows, you deserve it.
Wow! What a trip! Glad you are safe and sound and all the ticks and freckles are removed…ha! By the way, you look amazing! xo
Jilly 3 +2, since I do not see you often enough, I can vicariously follow your family adventures on your blog. Speaking of blogs, GIVE EM ALL YOUR
GOODIES at the blogger get together. Looking forward to seeing you back in Aspen soon, love you all, DeDe
Whew! I do not even have the strength to write about my travels with my three young ones especially since we drive everywhere. Can you say “hot and sweaty?” Our car airconditioning broke on a 103 degree day.
Anyhoo, can’t wait for you and your travel companions, “Myself” and “I” to report back from Blogher. Have fun and a drink for me.
CJ
.-= CJ´s last blog ..Michael Jackson and a Lesson in Dying =-.
Your photos, as always, are idyllic! Idylic? How do you spell that word?? And do the firmness settings on matresses really work? I’ve always wondered about those…
.-= parentingadabsurdum´s last blog ..More life with boys =-.
Wow! I’m exhausted just reading that! What a trip and what an amazing storyteller you are. Your photos are breathtaking – I live so close to Nantucket but have never been (the Vineyard, yes, but not Nantucket). Hope you are having a great time at the conference and I look forward to reading about it.
Alysia
.-= Alysia´s last blog ..Runnin’ Down A Dream =-.
Hi Jillian – so fun to meet you at Blogher and dance our butts of at the evening parties. Loved meeting a fellow Coloradan. If you ever come down to Boulder and have time to grab lunch or coffee, let me know! And I’ll do the same! Hope you enjoyed Blogher.
Hmm, however as you say, you still will do it all again, so all is well. Have fun at BlogHer and tell them all you are the best blogger. xox Wilma
.-= Wilma Ham´s last blog ..I believe in the power of the individual- YOU =-.
You know it Wilma! Will be checking in to your site soon!
Hello Holly,
Yes, it was fun wasn’t it?
Thank you so much Alysia.
Come visit me in Nantucket next summer!
Hi CJ, I have thought about taking the children on road trips but then I thought again.
I had a few drinks for you at the conference, but wish we could have some together!
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