Twenty Four Hours From Now

T minus twelve hours, I will be getting in the car, heading to the airport.

I will board a plane for LAX. After sitting there for two hours, and meeting up with a friend, we will board a plane for Miami. We will arrive in Miami Saturday evening, to be greeted by reps from my company who will escort us to a fancy schmancy hotel, where I have been given a stipend for our dinner. The stipend, knowing what hotel this is, will pay for salad and ice tea, but who cares?

Sunday morning, awake and refreshed, we will board a the Carnival Fun Ship Liberty. We will pull away from US soil around dinner time. That same evening there will be a captain's fancy pants event to kick this whole shin dig off. We have three ports of call. We will be in Nassau, Bahamas on Monday shopping, I know that for sure. A day or so later, we will be in Grand Cayman, snorkeling. A few days after that, we will be in Cozumel, Mexico. We wanted to ride ATV's there, but my tweaked back won't go for that. We are doing a gourmet dinner there. Nice!

I am going on a cruise with a very near and dear friend of mine. This is all paid for and arranged by my company. It is an incentive trip they give away every year to those who earn it. I have earned it for six years now, and it's not that hard to do. Once I earned the first one, I made it a point to never not earn it. These are the sorts of trips people save a lifetime for.

We are both giggling excited, and yet, right now, we are in the tear away mode. What is that? That is finishing everything up at home so your household can function without you for a week. I have done all the laundry, paid bills, ran errands, bought pet food, had the lawn mowed, talked to the nanny who will stay one night, bought frozen pizza and lasagna, etc. I am not done yet. I have to pack. I have to remember all the things to pack. I should be okay, but I am going to end up packing at 10 pm tonight. Sigh....

This is not the rushed mode I wanted to leave on. My back is limiting me quite a bit. I am mobile now. But quite sore, when it screams, I stop. I need to be able to sit on a plane for 6+ hours without having spasms. I think I have my meds down to a T in such a way, I know when to take them before I need to get going. So laundry has been hard this week, driving is hard, I get tired easily because pain saps my energy, etc. I am a bit rushed. But I will be fine.

Plus, to make this just the best way to leave. My husband's college that he works at has graduation tonight. He has to be there. I have the kids with me. So there is no working on any of this until they are snoring.

And it's extremely hot here right now. We are pushing close to 100 degrees. It is absolutely unseasonable. I like to think it's preparing me for the Caribbean. But one difference is that my room will be air conditioned!

Anyway, I will be posting some fun pictures upon my return. I pray all of you have a great week. I also encourage you to remember that when I return, it will be Memorial Day. We need to remember those past, present and future soldiers who have died for us. The ultimate sacrifice anyone can make is their life. Thousands have done that for us. So while we will be barbecuing, enjoying the sun, and taking a day off. Say a prayer, attend a service in your area, show your kids what it means to memorialize people who are special.