this wasn't in the plan |but life is still pretty good

I couldn't have planned the past two weeks no matter how hard I could have tried. Just four days before departure, I learned that the kids and I would be able to accompany The Tall One on his business trip. We'd be gone for nearly a week, a week that I'd originally intended to be at home. This meant some scrambling to finish work on a few prior commitments (that would need to be completed earlier than planned) as well as prepare for the trip.

And then the weather got in the way. Too many cancellations and delays and I was thinking that the trip just wasn't going to happen. But it did, and it was wonderful. And here are a few things I've learned.

Procrastination is bad, but if you stay on top of enough things, you'll have time to do the things you've put off.

While finding a pay phone is normally like looking for a needle in a haystack, pay phones are plentiful in airports.

While "on time" is preferred, "delayed" is much better than canceled.

It's possible to be very worried and stressed yet still feel completely calm. Don't ask me to elaborate, it's very technical.

Playing strange games that your four year old invents are actually kind of fun while waiting in an airport (and airports will somehow cause said four year old to walk approximately six times slower than his normal pace).

Even if things seem to be going horribly wrong, the tide can turn and everything can end up perfectly.