Things are crazy here. Spring break was a disaster. We were supposed to fly back to Iowa and Minnesota and got caught in that whole Delta Flight-Canceling Fiesta that was going on. We were there. Ready to go. Bag checked. Mickey-D’s food choked down. And then ….

Flight canceled.

We were alerted to this fact by a woman behind us yelling FFFUUUUCCCCKKKKKKK!!!!!! At the top of her lungs.

Eyes swiveled to her and then towards what she was looking at, eyes and mouth twisted up into full-on bitch-face mode.

CANCELED flashed next to our flight number and the fine print below informed us we would be rescheduled to the next available flight. Yeah, right. If the 100 foot-long line at the customer service desk – evidence of the previous day’s cancellations – in the check-in area of the airport was any indicator the next available flight would be in June.

A seismic groan echoed through the concourse and a gate attendant clicked on his microphone. His tone as he went through the typical apology was only quasi-apologetic and mostly pissed off. This had been going on for days and, as he peevishly told us, “I was here for 16 hours yesterday and I’ve been here for 8 already.” So buckle up.

I immediately called Delta’s help line and was just as instantaneously put on hold. Seeing no hope there I got up and stood in the line for Mr. Cheerful.  As I stood there watching our hopes for seeing our family fly away, Delta cheerfully told me all the ways that I spend more money with them. Not bloody likely, Delta.

I actually reached Mr. Cheerful before I was helped on the phone. I suspect everyone in the help room was cowering under their desks and waiting to wake up from this nightmare and no one was getting help anywhere.  He gave an attempt at a gracious smile as he asked what he could do for me. I told him I needed re-booking for 3 tickets.

He turned white and broke into a sweat. Then he literally rubbed his face with his hands and said, “Oh, God.” Then he clacked some keys and looked at me with a severely down-turned mouth. “I can’t get you out until Monday afternoon. Maybe. At the earliest.” This was a Friday and we only had a week of break to see 2 different families and there was driving to do in the middle.

So we had to cancel.

Everyone was devastated. But we did try to make the best of our now stay-cation. They had a fine time with museums and movies and sleeping in. But it wasn’t the same.

And then, instead of blog (I’m stuck on a Berkeley Chronicle), I got focused on a new project of summarizing some conference videos (more on that in another post), getting pre-schoolers enrolled in Rock Creek, and writing another 2 or 3 parenting articles. All for pay.

In reality I did that for about 40% of my time. The rest of the time I read, watched movies, and cruised around home decorating sites fantasizing about my new house. I have narrowed it down on that chandelier – we have a top 4: 3, 5, 7 & 9 in case you are keeping score at home.  We need to go to a lighting store to see them in real life just to make sure. That might happen this weekend. Maybe.

The moving is going to happen soon! We can start at the end of the month! I already have some things in boxes – things we didn’t bother to unpack when we came back to America. I kind of feel ahead. It’s a luxurious illusion that will pop like a soap bubble in about 2 weeks. Then I will be scrambling to purge out what we don’t need and pack away what we don’t need right now.

We have the truck scheduled. And my parents are coming to watch the kids while we haul boxes and then drive that obscenely huge metal box on wheels to our new house and unload things. Mark is insisting I get a back brace. He has even threatened to get it for me for Mother’s Day. I asked for a Roomba instead.

In the meantime, I am getting the boys reassigned to new schools. (Oh, yeah! I have a phone call to return!) And I’m trying to put off buying anything large that has to be delivered until our new house is officially open to us and the previous owner has moved out. — Like a new bed for Mark and I. I am totally not moving that thing more than I have to.

But all this will be soon!! Soon! Soon! Soon!

Soooooonnnn!!!!!!

And I promise that I will finish that Berkeley Chronicle and a couple other projects I’ve been working on for you. Uh … Soon.