I woke up about twenty to 7. Which was good. I needed to be up by 7 to finish getting ready. I ended up repacking the clothes in my Cotopaxi pack, rolled them up nice and tight and got my pajamas to fit in there in addition to all the dirty clothes.
I brought my bags downstairs and waited for my dad and step-mom to show up and pick my brother and I up. He needed a ride to the Metra station, so it worked out for them to get us both.
After we dropped him off, my dad has a hard time getting back onto the highway in the right direction, but we didn’t lose too much time. We still got to the airport with plenty of time to spare before I needed to go through security. I was overly cautious with not overloading my suitcase, which ended up being 34 pounds. I could have put a lot more in there, but I carried a lot of weight on my back instead.
We got coffee at Midway and chatted. I had a bit of a cry, and my step-mom took pictures of my dad and I before I went through security. Security was quick, but both my carry on bags got pulled for examination. One because of the Savon de Marseille soap that my step-mom gave me, and the other from my heating pad, which happens more often than not. They check it for explosives residue and then let me go.
The travel day was okay. The flights were pretty much on time. I wore a mask on the plane, but not in the terminals. I bought some popcorn from Nuts on Clark before I left Midway, which I brought with me. The water in my bottle leaked somehow in my backpack, but nothing was ruined. At Denver, I bought myself an Americano and a smoothie from Dazbog Coffee. Then I ate a biscotti that my dad had given me yesterday, a Barebells energy bar, and the popcorn. I felt like I was in an eating frenzy.
Once I had eaten all my food and drank all my drinks, I did my Move U exercises. I did up-down-front-backs and spinal oscillations. My left shoulder is feeling even more tweaked than usual. And my throat was hurting in the morning and hasn’t improved throughout the day. I’m really hoping that my aching body is just from the lack of sleep and the long day of travel.
From Chicago to Denver, I sat in the back, an aisle with no one in the middle seat. From Denver to Boise, I sat in the 4th row, taking the aisle next to a couple. I wanted to get off that plane as soon as possible. Which would have happened but we were early and someone was parked at our gate so I had to wait a bit. And even longer for the luggage. I danced to music in my head as I waited, and I drummed on my bag on the walk to claim to keep from thinking of Ambrose not waiting for me.
The Americano helped fuel me enough to want to drive home, so I gave Jess his Malort and Aji Amarillo, gratefully accepted hot water for tea and some curry with rice that he’d made that I could heat up when I got home. That nicely solved my dilemma of what to do for dinner.
The drive home was a bit exciting. Torrential rains poured down between Boise and Caldwell. I slowed down significantly through those sections because of the low visibility and the possibility of hydroplaning. Better to delay and make it home safe. The rain cleared up in time for me to take advantage of the 80 mph section. And no rain on 95, though there was fog when I got into Cambridge, especially going up the hill.
The curry was fantastic. Absolutely hit the spot. I’m so grateful that my friend had that available for me to take and that he thought to offer it. I turned my water heater off vacation mode first thing, and then turned the heat up in the house. Then I brought all the bags in, but I only unpacked my toiletries because I’m not up for anything else tonight.
I’m feeling tired and yet awake, probably from all the coffee today. I’m too tired to think about Ambrose. I put Groundhog Day on as background noise. I think it’s time to shower and then see if I can fall asleep. I hope the aches go away and the throat clears up.