Almost Time

I am in disbelief that today I leave for my great adventure. Since school got out last Monday, there has been a flurry of activity -- cleaning out my classroom, attending a workshop, attending to many neglected tasks in the garden and in the house, and of course making sure everything is in order for the trip.

Packing has been the least exciting task, I must admit. The process was a bit like "American Idol," deciding who the contestants (clothing articles) would be, who would make the cut, and what was the criteria for moving them on to the next round (does everything go with at least 3-4 other things). 

My brother-in-law played a lovely little joke on me a few weeks ago, presenting me with "the perfect suitcase" for a trip of 30+ days.

He works for a shoe company and brought over the most enormous suitcase that carries shoe samples. This gargantuan piece of luggage was twice the size of my rolling duffle and I was horrified at the sight of it.

There was no way I'd be able to maneuver this behemoth myself through Logan and Heathrow. Of course he was presenting it to me as a gift at a family party and I was desperately trying to smile and be polite, when in fact I was sweating bullets, stressed out of my mind, and near tears. My sister saw the panic-stricken look on my face and immediately called an end to the joke. Thank goodness! Everyone had a good laugh and I proceeded to play the same joke on my traveling companion, Jennie, last week. She was speechless and admitted to having unpleasant thoughts in her head until I, too, called off the joke to save her from having a heart attack.

If all goes to plan, and the WIFI at Heathrow works, I'll let you all know when I've arrived on Saturday. I'm thrilled to have a few hours layover before catching my flight up to Newcastle, which will give me time to get my bearings.

Until then, Cheerio!