Travel Lowlights

It's good to be home. Two weeks of living out of a suitcase with a toddler is fun for only so long. We had a good time and were able to visit friends and family and friends who are like family. It was good but I'd love to share a few lowlights from the trip:

Lowlight #1 - The Airport
Lucy and I left on Monday morning at 5 AM. My mind doesn't function so well at this hour and I neglected to grab any cash. Bad move. Heed my words - ALWAYS TRAVEL WITH CASH. We got to the long-term parking lot and I realized my misstep. So I'm able to gather enough quarters to give the shuttle driver an adequate tip (yeah, I felt incredibly lame passing off a handful of quarters but money is money, right?). At the airport drop off I realize I have no cash for the cash-only smart cart machine. So what do I do? I become a human pack mule. I managed to carry Lucy in a front-pack, my diaper bag as a backpack, Lucy's car seat, a rolling duffel bag and a pack n play about a quarter mile to the ticket counter. I know people were looking at me thinking either of the following: Glad it's not me and/or Why the hell doesn't that lady get a smart cart? Did I feel slightly empowered that I could do it all myself? A little. Did I look like a complete idiot? Most definitely. Did I care once I successfully checked in? Not in the slightest.

Lowlight #2 - Thursday at Diane's
Lucy and I arrived at Diane's place on Tuesday evening and had a great time hanging out on Wednesday. Diane went back to work and I planned to visit my friend, Karen, in San Ramon on Thursday. I woke up with a little bit of pain in my lower back but I took some ibuprofen and thought little of it. As I got packed I realize my posture was getting worse and worse but again, I thought very little of it. I walked into the hallway to get Lucy and my back completely gave out. I collapsed and was in some serious pain, probably due to lowlight numero uno. Luckily, I collapsed with my cell phone in my pocket. I was able to calmly call Diane and she said she would be home in a half hour to help. Unfortunately, I couldn't get any network to call anyone else. So I found myself sliding on my back throughout Diane's apartment in order to get reception to call my friend, Karen, and my brother-in-law, Doug, who is a firefighter/EMT for advice. That moment was made for a Verizon commercial as I slid over rugs and around tables while cursing T Mobile. I must say I was quite thankful for her wood floors which made the sliding much easier. Lucy also took things in stride. I thought that the loud thud from my fall would scare her but no. Mom down = instant jungle gym. Trying to keep Lucy from standing on my mid-section while having back spasms was less than easy but at least she was happy.
Because I couldn't walk very well for a few days our plans to see San Francisco kinda fizzled, but we had a great time being with Diane and Brian. I must say that I'm incredible grateful to Diane who took the day off work to take care of Lucy while I was incapacitated. It is hard to feel completely helpless when you're not in your normal surroundings but Diane made it easy to depend on her which says a lot about her graciousness and care.

In spite of the lowlights it was a fun trip. We were able to spend a few days with my college roommate, Lisa, which was great fun. We got to bring in some of the summer harvest out of Lisa's garden and Lucy had a ball digging in the dirt and taking bites out of tomatoes (I wish I had pictures but I failed to take my camera anywhere). We watched lots of football and had many good conversations while eating copious amounts of good food. All in all, the trip wasn't at all restful and maybe it didn't go quite as planned but we got to be with people we love and that was what mattered.