…I really shouldn’t try and go away.  It is too stressful for me – I don’t know how people who have to travel for a living do it.  I worry.  How will the kids react? will the house be standing when I get home?  will the babysitter remember to give Matthew his medicine (and will the teacher send me a nasty message about Matthew not getting his medicine?) will Matthew eat anything all day? how many times will Riley call me on my cell phone?

…so, I accepted an invitation to give a lecture in Pittsburgh (offered about 1 1/2 months ago) because they were paying me and I thought it would be good to have some extra money with Christmas coming and in my unending quest to pay off my last adoption bills.  As the time got closer I thought about cancelling but …well Christmas is coming. 

…I left work at 10:30 for a 12:18 flight and arrived about 10:45.  Unfortunately the main airport road was blocked by 2 police cruisers and about 40 Firetrucks when I arrived.  They weren’t letting anyone into the airport.  So, I had some time – I ran to CVS and then drove back down the street.  Still closed off.  I got in line to go to the WAWA nearby and wait it out for a few minutes.  20 minutes later  I was still in line.  Finally got off and now it was 11:20 and I was pretty sure I wasn’t gonna get in and put my hand to my cell and started calling the coordinator…

…just as I did that, the announcer on the radio announced that a jet fuel truck had overturned on the airport road and gave directions to a back entrance to the airport!  WTF – I didn’t even know that they had a back entrance…so off I went…it took almost 10 minutes to find it but I got there just at 12:00 and walked onto the plane. 

…2 planes and 3 hours later, I was in Pittsburgh.  I had just enough time to read about 50 more pages of Twilight (okay that is another blog post) before the limo picked me up to bring me to Mortons in Pittsburgh.  When the lecture was over at 8:30, I called home. 

…Sherry, my babysitter said that all of the kids had fallen asleep really fast but Riley woke up and wanted to talk to me.  He got on the phone and was crying (partly because he is so deathly afraid of losing me these days and partly because he was half asleep).  I spent 10 minutes talking to a sobbing 7 year old…does a lot of good for my mother of the year sentiments!  Finally I got him to talk about something else by telling him about the limo I was in!  The driver was laughing as I was talking to him –R just kept asking me exactly how big the limo was and how could I be in a limo because I wasn’t famous!

…So, back to the hotel to sleep and then got up early this morning to catch my plane back.  All of the kids ran up to me like they hadn’t seen me (in forever).  I took them to $5 below to soothe my guilt  to let them pick out a toy for being good.  As they were bickering in the car and I was threatening to take the toys back, Matthew said, “Thank you for taking us out for a treat mommy, I love my toy!”  It’s nice to know that at least one of them spontaneously gets it!  His thanks was followed by 3 other contrite voices (so they get it a little!)…

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