For the very first time during my tenure as a wife and mother I had the opportunity to travel completely by myself. My dad was retiring, and I wanted to be there for him and my mother. I wanted to hang out with my siblings. And we did, and it was grand!

The toughest part is always the leaving. As Alan and my kiddos drove me closer and closer to the airport my nerves just blossomed. By the time we got there I was wishing for a couple stiff drinks or some serious meds. In fact, I was about two blinks away from just calling it all off. How would I cope without my children? How would they cope without ME? Alan basically gave me a kiss and told me to buck up and have fun. I couldn’t really argue.

After the initial walk of shame across the parking lot, sniffling all the way, I made it into the airport. Reality shifted in that moment and I was on my own. I made my way to the counter and got checked in and then made my way to security. I sailed through. It was quite an experience not having to prep three kids and keep them all together. Another positive aspect to traveling alone. :)

I am a terrible passenger on airplanes. I am normally freaked out to the max and not pleasant to be around when on a plane. The utterly fabulous thing that happened this time... I was totally relaxed! I sat back and just enjoyed the hell out of myself. I even sat by a window seat on the second leg. Oh the pretty lights! After a few delays I made it into Houston in the wee hours and settled in for a long night. Fortunately, I had some terrific company that came to visit me. We had a good time and I only realized I was sleepy about 5:30 that morning. Once on the plane to Corpus I was sound asleep before we even took off. I didn’t wake up until the plane touched down with a thud. I’m pretty sure I snored and maybe even drooled a bit, too. Sorry to the cute guy sitting next to me. )

Stay tuned for more family fun...