Tag Archives: airplane

My Travel Experience (or I Hate That This Isn’t Always Easy)

Posted on November 16, 2022 | Comments Off on My Travel Experience (or I Hate That This Isn’t Always Easy)

I’m going to write about my trip to Portland in tomorrow’s post, but I wanted to share my travel experience first. I had a few parts to my trip going to and from Portland. The easy part was driving to LAX and parking my car. I use the same parking lot whenever I park there. It’s not the cheapest one, but it feels safe and is easy to get to. So I just use that. I’m a bit annoyed that I realized I lost all my loyalty points because I hadn’t flown in a while because I wanted to use those for my parking. But that was a minor inconvenience to deal with and at least this was a relatively simple part of my trip.

I had been very nervous about flying for a while leading up to my trip. I don’t love flying and have had panic attacks on planes before. I also didn’t like the idea of being in such a small space with a lot of people who might not be wearing masks. I knew I’d wear a mask for the entire flight, but that might not be enough for me. I also knew both my flights were sold out, so it would be a full flight with people all around me. And I also was nervous about just being in a plane seat. Plane seats are tiny for everyone. I’ve never needed to have a seatbelt extender or an extra seat, but it’s still something I’m afraid will happen. I have flown at heavier weights than I am now, so there was no reason why I would need something different this time. But I was still scared something would happen.

My flight to Portland wasn’t too bad. The people seated next to me weren’t wearing masks, but they were sleeping through the entire flight and turned away from me. So at least they weren’t always breathing in my face. And I fit into my seat just fine. I know that’s not something everyone worries about going on to a plane, but until I was seated and had the seatbelt on me, I was scared something would be different and I didn’t want to know what that could mean. I did have some moments when I thought I might have a panic attack, but it never got that bad. I was anxious the entire flight, but that’s normal so I’m not bothered by that.

My flight home was decent as well. It was a newer plane, so the seats were a little nicer. And for this flight, I had a pretty view during takeoff.

For both flights, I just tried to stay distracted the entire time so I didn’t feel too anxious. I spent most of my time reading and that helped to pass the time without me constantly looking at my watch or trying to figure out how much longer I had left. And since I didn’t check bags, I didn’t have any fears about losing my luggage or anything like that.

And I got to and from the Portland airport via light rail. The train that has a stop right outside the airport also had a stop near where I was staying with my family. It saved my parents from having to drive to the airport to get me so they could enjoy more of their time and not have to be in traffic. It was about an hour each way for me, and just like on the plane, I spent most of my time reading. It was interesting to see the different parts of Portland on the train since it did go through a lot of the downtown area. And fortunately, it never was too crowded on the train for either trip. There were a few moments on the ride back to the airport at the end of the trip when there were a few people who were making me nervous and hanging out very close to my suitcase when there were a lot of other open spaces on the train. But everything was fine and I was probably just a bit paranoid.

Considering that this was the first time I had done any sort of traveling other than driving to Santa Barbara since Thanksgiving 2019, I’m pretty happy with how things went. I still have the same fears that I had before the pandemic, and I expected that to be the case. But at least nothing was that much worse than before and I was able to make the traveling experience as smooth as possible for myself. And the travel was just a few hours each way bookending my trip so most of my weekend was spent enjoying myself with my family and not focused on traveling.

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Finally Having A Trip Planned (or It’s Been A Long Time Since I’ve Been Away From LA)

Posted on September 23, 2022 | Comments Off on Finally Having A Trip Planned (or It’s Been A Long Time Since I’ve Been Away From LA)

I know I’ve written about this before, but I haven’t really gone too far from LA for almost 3 years now. Since November 2019, I have not been further from my home than Santa Barbara. And I do know that doing day trips up there does count as being away from home, but it’s not really the same. It’s a 90-minute drive to get up there and I haven’t been gone for more than a day trip. The last time I was further was when I went to Thanksgiving in Sacramento.

I know that a lot of people didn’t travel anywhere in 2020 due to the pandemic. But since then, so many people have traveled. Some people have gone to places they can drive to but they were there for a weekend. Others have flown out of state or out of the country and have gone on a real vacation. I was due for a vacation before the pandemic. Now I feel like I am very overdue for a trip and getting to explore a new place.

It will probably still be a while before I plan a trip somewhere I haven’t been before. I have ideas of places I’d like to go, but I am still a bit anxious about traveling. I know that if I do get sick, I might not be too sick because I have been vaccinated and gotten the newest booster, but it still makes me nervous. I also don’t love the idea of being on a crowded plane with a lot of other people.

I might not have a big trip planned just yet, but I will be on a plane in about a month and a half. My family is continuing our new tradition of doing Thanksgiving before Thanksgiving because it is less expensive to travel then and it’s usually easier to find places to stay. Last year, we did this in Santa Barbara and I was just up there for the day and drove home after dinner. I originally was going to stay longer, but it is easier just to sleep at my own place when I know I’d be driving home early the next morning. But this year, our early Thanksgiving will be up in Portland so I’ll be flying up there for a weekend in November!

I haven’t been to Portland in a long time. I’ve been up there to visit friends who used to live up there and I’ve been there to be with family. But it’s been a very long time since my last trip up there. We have been trying to do Thanksgiving in Portland a few times, but it just didn’t work out before either because of travel issues or the pandemic. Even though I’ll only be there for about 48 hours, it will be nice to get away from home and see my family. And at least I’ll be hanging out with my family longer than I did last year when I was in Santa Barbara for less than a day.

I am still anxious about getting on a plane, both for my normal reason of not liking to fly and because of being around so many other people in a tiny space. I know that masks aren’t required on planes anymore, but I will be wearing one for sure on my flights. When I was looking at flights, I picked ones that were non-stop, so I only have to be on one plane and I don’t have to worry about making a connection. So that should help make my anxiety a little bit less. But I know I’ll still be very nervous flying and I’m just hoping that it’s not too overwhelming like some panic attacks have been for me in the past.

I still want to do a lot more traveling. It’s something that I have said so many times that I want to prioritize again in my life. I usually don’t have the time or money, but I feel like there are ways I could work around it. Some of the things I want to do aren’t that cheap, but I could find alternative trips that I could take. I’m still working on figuring out the perfect budgeting system, and I know I’m spending less and making more than I did before so I probably could afford a trip soon. Maybe this short weekend away to Portland in November will help kick off getting things together so I can go on a trip. But even if it doesn’t, I’m glad I have a little trip planned so I can have a break from my day-to-day life and have some fun away from where I spend pretty much all my time.

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An Interesting Plane Flight (or A Return Of My Panic Attacks)

Posted on November 23, 2018 | 1 comment

I flew to Sacramento earlier this week to spend Thanksgiving with my family. The past several years Thanksgiving was in San Diego, but since my grandma moved to Sacramento we all traveled to be where she is. It was weird to fly for Thanksgiving since it had been so many years since I had to do that. And I realized when I got to the airport that it had been over 2 years since I had been on a plane.

I haven’t been a huge traveler over the past decade or so, but I usually would take at least one flight a year. So to go 2 years without flying was possibly the longest I’ve gone without a flight. I wasn’t too worried about it and was almost thinking it was funny it had been so long, so I was pretty relaxed when I got to the airport. Even with all the travel, parking issues, and getting through security; I was in the main terminal with plenty of time to spare. So I relaxed and got some dinner before I had to go to my gate.

While I was sitting at the gate, I started to notice some signs of a panic attack. It’s been a long time since I had an attack so I was hoping maybe I was thinking too much about it. Plus, I didn’t have any of my panic medication with me (and I’m sure it’s all expired) so I was just trying to stay calm and not think about it. But things kept getting worse for me. I was feeling very off and I just wanted the flight to be over with. But I still had time to wait before we boarded so I tried to focus on my book.

I was in one of the first boarding groups so I got a window seat and tried to settle in. I turned the fan on as high as it went because I was starting to sweat and shake. I knew I was probably going to have an attack on the plane and I couldn’t do much to change that. I just had to push through and hope it didn’t last the entire flight. The flight was full so the middle and aisle seats in my row were taken, but the people sitting in them were sleeping before we took off so I didn’t have to worry that they would be worried about me.

I really tried to just read my book and not think about things, but my mind just kept wandering. I had a pretty strong attack during the takeoff and a couple of moderate ones during the flight. The flight was only an hour so to have a couple of them felt like I was having them the entire time, but I know there were moments of calm during the flight that I was able to read.

Because I was flying at night, I didn’t realize we were about to land until I could see the runway below us right before we touched down. I only had a minor attack from the time we touched down until we got to the gate so that was much easier to deal with. Once I got off the plane, I stood in the jetway for a moment to try to catch my breath and relax. I’m sure there were people looking at me while I was calming down but I didn’t care. I wanted the attack to be done so I could get out of the airport.

Walking through the airport and in my Uber ride to the hotel, I was decompressing from the attack. I felt exhausted and my body was hurting. It’s been so long since I’ve had one and I forgot how it takes so much out of you both mentally and physically.

I’m glad it wasn’t worse and I’m very proud of myself for getting through it without any medication. I don’t know if I’m going to try to get a new prescription because I’m really hoping this was a one time thing. I do have my flight back and I am a bit worried about it, but I’m trying to stay optimistic as well. Maybe this attack only happened because it had been so long since I flew? I know my attacks at the dentist have stopped and I go there 3 times a year. So maybe it was just that I was out of practice with flying and my flight home will feel more routine.

No matter why it happened or if it will happen again, the fact is that I had a panic attack on the plane. It wasn’t fun and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone, but I made it through. And if I have another one, I just need to remind myself that I can get through it again. I would prefer if I could get through it when I’m home and have more things around me that comfort me, but I have done it on a plane surrounded by people so I think I can make it through in any circumstance.

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The Rest Of My Maryland Trip (or More Family Time)

Posted on July 28, 2016 | 2 comments

While the main event of my trip to Maryland was the family reunion, I also had all day Sunday there to spend with everyone. I started my day on Sunday with breakfast at Maria’s Love Point with my mom, dad, brother, and sister-in-law. I can’t speak highly enough about Maria’s Love Point. My family were the only guests there so we had some really personalized attention. We had such an amazing breakfast every day and they asked us what we liked so they could make us things we would want. Every breakfast was fantastic and I’m just glad I didn’t gain a ton of weight from the trip!

After a relaxing breakfast at the B&B, we got into the car to head over to my Aunt Susan’s house where most of the family was gathering for breakfast and family time. It was a pretty short drive from where we were staying to her house, so everyone who was there was still there when we arrived. This was the first time I had seen my aunt’s house, so I got a quick tour from my dad and then spent the rest of my time there hanging out with my cousins.

I really was just so grateful that I’ve gotten to know my cousins as adults. I’ve had the privilege with my cousins on my mom’s side, but I see them every year. It’s not really possible for me to go back east every year or for my cousins to come to CA every year so our time together is really special to me. My cousin Danny is working on his PhD right now and he and I got into some really smart conversations. He sent me a couple of papers he’s worked on and while I knew he was smart I had no idea that he was that smart!

My conversation with my cousin Rachel, Alisa, cousin Janis (Rachel and Leah’s mom) and my mom was actually about childbirth and all the craziness that goes with it. I was the only one in the conversation without kids, but it was still fun hearing everyone’s stories. I’ve heard my birth story from my mom a couple of times, but it was fun watching my cousins listening to it and having their stories to share too. And while we had that conversation, everyone was taking a turn with Alisa and Danny’s brand new baby Hendrix (he was only a few weeks old). Everyone wanted to hold him because he’s just so cute, and finally I got my turn.

Hendrix

I’m so happy that I got to meet Hendrix, but I’m sad because I have no idea when I’ll see him (or Sebastian, his older brother) next. I’ve already been bugging Alisa and Danny that they need to come out to the west coast for a trip, so hopefully they will come visit soon!

After a few hours at my Aunt Susan’s house, it was time for us all to leave. My family headed back to the B&B where it was so hot out that the only thing we could think to do is to get back into the pool.

At The Pool

As you can tell from my photo, I got a bit of a sunburn while in Maryland. Only the parts of my body that were out of the pool (including my knees) got burnt and thankfully the sunburn is starting to fade now. I tried my best to protect my skin but I’m wondering if the humidity affected how the sunscreen worked on me. And yes, that is the bathing suit that I bought for Hawaii.

The pool was perfect and we spent a long time in there just hanging out as a family and enjoying our trip. It was nice to have some relaxing time together and I’m glad that we weren’t crazy over-scheduled while we were there.

After some time in the pool, we all got ready for dinner. We went out to a restaurant that was right on the water and we had a gorgeous view from our table.

Dinner View

After a nice dinner together, we headed back to the B&B and we all started packing to get ready to leave the next morning. My brother and sister-in-law were heading to Washington D.C. the next day and my parents were meeting with some friends to go camping. I had to get back to LA to get back to work, but it was nice that we were all leaving at the same time.

The next morning, we all headed to the airport together. The train station (for everyone else) was right next to the airport and we tried to arrange all of our transportation to be around the same time. I was the first one dropped off since I was flying and had to get through security. So I said goodbye to my family and headed into the Baltimore airport for my trip home.

I had 2 flights to get home with a few hour layover in between. My first flight was pretty uneventful. I had my window seat and the flight was full so every seat was taken. I spent most of my time reading my book and taking really quick naps (I think I slept for maybe 5 minutes at a time). My layover was spent getting some lunch and doing more reading. But when I got on the plane, I discovered that my seat was upgraded a bit!

Since I booked my tickets for this trip back in January, I’ve had several flight changes for my flights home. I think at one point I was getting flight or schedule changes every day. At one point, my new flights only had a layover of 30 minutes. I wasn’t ok with that so I called the airline to change it. I guess when I changed my flight but asked to keep my original seat number I got upgraded from economy to the fancier economy section!

The section I was in was only 3 rows of seats so it felt nice and small and I didn’t feel overwhelmed or panicky at all. I had a window seat with a ton of leg room and there was nobody sitting next to me so I stretched out on the flight.

Upgrade

It was so worth it to have the slightly upgraded seat (I would have loved to have been in first class, but that wasn’t in the cards for me), and I think having the extra room in front and next to me really helped to make this flight the most calm one I can remember having. If I have the option to upgrade to the nicer economy seats in the future (which I usually can’t do since I fly Southwest), I think I’m going to splurge on it because it was so much better for my mental health. I really am so happy that my flights were calm and I didn’t even take my meds for it. This is huge progress for me and I’m hoping that future flights go just as well.

Between the drive to the airport, my flights, my layover, and the time to drive back home I had traveled for 13 hours to get back to LA. The trip was totally worth it and I wouldn’t have changed any of it, but I was happy to be home.

I really hope that these family reunions will be more often in my future. I don’t want it to be another 5 or 16 years before I see people. I really do love my family and I want to be in their lives and not just through Facebook. Hopefully some of them can come out to visit me soon or I will have an opportunity to get back east again in the near future.

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Trip Planning (or Keeping Panic To A Minimum)

Posted on July 26, 2016 | Comments Off on Trip Planning (or Keeping Panic To A Minimum)

This past weekend, I went to Maryland for a family reunion. I just got back last night so I’ll recap the trip tomorrow, but I wanted to share with you how my trip planning went.

I’m a pretty good traveler, but I get so nervous and panicky about things. I always want to make sure I remember everything and I know I overpack because I’m scared I’ll forget something that isn’t easy to find (like clothing). For years, I’ve taken panic meds before traveling (for a day or so before flying and then right before my flight to be ok with flying). But since I’ve been doing better with my panic attacks and my Vyvanse makes the panic meds not as effective, I’ve been trying to get through traveling without the meds. I’ve been doing ok with doing that at the dentist (which is a miracle), so it should be the same for traveling.

I tried to do all of the other things I do to prepare for traveling to keep myself calm. I made all of my usual checklists, I did all of my usual prep work (checking all my travel toiletries and supplies), and tried to plan for some fun things to do on the flights there and back. I flew there with my brother and sister-in-law, but I flew home by myself so I wanted to make sure I had plenty of new library books on my Kindle to read and other things to keep my mind off of flying.

I was doing pretty great with my prep stuff, until I started planning out my clothes. While I am used to occasionally having hot days in LA, we don’t have humidity like they do in Maryland. I wanted to make sure I had clothes that would do their best to keep me cool in 90 degree heat and 90% humidity. Most of what I packed were workout clothes since those wick away sweat (I know that’s gross, but it’s true). And my outfit for the reunion was a tank top and a skirt so I figured it should keep me a bit cooler than other things. But just knowing that I might be sweaty for the entire weekend stressed me out.

I don’t know why that got to me so much, but I really was stressing a lot about the clothes and what would and wouldn’t show sweat if I was gross. I know that everyone else might be just as gross and sweaty, but I still didn’t want to look that way. I think part of it is knowing that I don’t want to look like I’m sweating because of my weight. I don’t want to be that stereotype and while I’ve been making good strides in my fitness and weight loss, others don’t know that and I don’t want to be judged.

I was talking to my mom about this a bit last week before leaving and she helped to calm me down a bit. I said that I just wanted to make sure I was impressing everyone since outside of my immediate family I haven’t seen any of the people at the reunion for 5 or 16 years (or ever in some cases). My mom was telling me how it doesn’t matter whether or not I impress people. I’m living my life the way I want to and as long as I’m happy it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks. I know I’ve known this, but having someone else tell me it made it finally register in my brain.

I really tried to focus on how awesome it’s going to be to be going on a trip and to see family that I haven’t seen in years. I’m so lucky that I had the opportunity to do this and I’m grateful that I got to go. These family reunions are held each year, but since everyone pretty much lives on the east coast they are always held there. And I usually don’t get to go so this time was really special. Focusing on those things did help me relax a bit and not feel like I really need to take my panic meds. I’d rather not have to take them anymore so testing myself is good for me. I’m so used to taking them, and trying to get off them is a good idea since I pretty much have to choose to take them or my Vyvanse (and I would rather be taking Vyvanse).

A full recap of my weekend in Maryland is coming and I can’t wait to share with you everyone that I got to finally see again!

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Back To LA (or Reflections On The NYC Trip)

Posted on March 28, 2014 | 3 comments

On Sunday last week, Krystle and I headed to the airport to get flights back to LA (for me) and San Francisco (for her). We had pretty early flights, so we were up at 5am that day. I was exhausted, but still didn’t sleep much on the flight.

I still can’t believe that this trip is over! Even though we only planned it for a few months, it seemed like we had been looking forward to it for forever!

On our last day in NYC, Krystle and I chatted about what we were able to check off our NYC checklists and what we need to do the next time we go (and we’ve already decided that this trip will be a somewhat regular adventure).

I’m so happy that we got to see as many shows as we did. We thought at first that 4 shows in 4 days was a bit ambitious, but it ended up being perfect! And we saw a good variety of shows (2 family friendly and 2 adult only).

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There were other shows that I would love to have seen, but I also just got a season at The Pantages (the Los Angeles theater that does Broadway tours) and most of the other shows I would have wanted to see are those that are in my season. But I’ve already said that if “Heathers” moves to Broadway, I will be back to see it again.

We didn’t really get to go into Central Park, and I don’t know if I’ve ever done that before (I don’t remember doing it, but maybe when I was little we went). Also, there are so many more museums that I want to see, but those are expensive and time-consuming. And money and time were a bit tight on this trip.

And there are also a lot of restaurants that were on my wish list that we didn’t make it to. But again, we can only go to so many dinners.

But we did manage to take the subway system for most of the trip, and we didn’t really get too lost. Sometimes we were confused what direction we needed to walk once we got out of the station, but that’s not too bad. Fortunately, we had both phone apps and a good paper map to use that helped us so much in our navigation. I also successfully hailed several cabs (I think that’s kind of awesome).

And finally, something that my mom said before we went on the trip was that she hoped that this trip would bring Krystle and I closer together. We’ve only seen each other a handful of times, and pretty much never just the two of us. So this was a real bonding experience. We got along super well (even in our really tiny hotel room that we shared) and we have planned to do more trips in the future. So I think it’s pretty safe to say that Krystle is not just my sister-in-law, but also a good friend of mine as well now.

It was tough to get back to life after this trip. It really felt like something magical with all the shows and seeing several friends. But I did have to get back to reality quickly because this past week, I started a new day job! But more on that next week.

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Meeting Tucker! (or Having An Awesome Valentine’s Day Without A Valentine)

Posted on February 17, 2014 | 1 comment

Friday morning, I flew home to my parents’ house. I was so excited to meet Tucker that I only had a minor panic attack on the plane (I think being able to listen to my podcasts during takeoff and landing helps too).

My dad got me at the airport and we went right home so I could finally meet Tucker (and see my mom too).

Even though my parents have been sending me photos almost every day, it was still a surprise to meet the puppy. He’s so much bigger than I thought he’d be! When we measured his height to his shoulder, he’s only about 2 inches shorter than Dante was when he was fully grown! And Tucker isn’t even 4 months old yet! I think we are going to have a very tall puppy.

I spent most of Friday getting to know Tucker and his fun little quirks. For example, he likes to sit really funny. He puts his butt on a stair (or a person if a stair isn’t close) and sits almost like he’s in a chair.

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He’s also very much a puppy. He has moments of being wild and crazy and then he crashes pretty hard for a nap. And he is obsessed with food. My parents have to split his meals into a few servings so he doesn’t eat too fast (and each serving is gobbled up and not even chewed).

But he’s super sweet and you can tell that he wants to please people. He tries so hard to be good, but sometimes his puppyness gets the best of him and he does something not so great (like trying to bite your hands).

By the end of Friday, I think Tucker accepted me as a member of his family. When I tried to have my mom take a picture of him and me, all Tucker wanted to do was kiss my face.

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And when Tucker was taking his nap before going to bed, he decided to use my shoe as his pillow.

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It was really a great Valentine’s Day. I got to spend it with family and the puppy and got tons of love throughout the day!

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3 Cities 1 Day (or My Christmas Adventure)

Posted on December 26, 2013 | 2 comments

Christmas ended up being a pretty busy day for me and my family. First, we had a nice breakfast at home. I made a bacon and cheese bread pudding (I’ll post the recipe soon) and it was delicious.

Then we headed up to San Francisco to see my brother, sister-in-law, and sister-in-law’s family. My brother and sister-in-law live about an hour away from my parents but since there was no traffic, we got there pretty quickly.

While my family doesn’t really celebrate Christmas, my sister-in-law’s family does. So we did give gifts to each other. I had already given my parents their gifts when they visited me for lunch, but I brought my brother and sister-in-law’s gifts with me. I got them each a SoulCycle gift card good for their first class (and shoe rental). SoulCycle just opened up a studio about 6 blocks away from their house. So I figured it would be something awesome to share with them. And they seemed to like it!

I got some gifts too! My brother and sister-in-law got me a SodaStream (it’s being shipped to my house and I should have it in a week). I’ve been wanting one for a while. Even though I haven’t had a soda in almost a year, I do enjoy sparkling water. But it gets expensive to keep buying them at the grocery store. So I’m excited to be able to make it at home soon! And my sister-in-law’s parents got me a really nice scented candle (I felt bad because I didn’t get them anything).

After presents, we took a walk down to the marina. It was a gorgeous day in San Francisco and was surprisingly warm.

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Before we knew it, we had to head home so I could catch my flight back to LA. We said goodbye to everyone and my parents and I started the drive back. We had just enough time to stop at my parents’ house for me to get all my stuff ready before I headed to the airport.

The airport and my flight were pretty crowded. I expected it to be empty since it was Christmas, but maybe that’s what everyone else thought too.

My flight was fine. I’m having an easier time flying now because I can keep myself distracted with my podcasts or e-reader during takeoff and landing (I’m so glad the ban on electronics during those parts of the flight ended).

Once I landed at LAX, I headed home in a cab and ordered some delivery Chinese food for dinner (it’s a Jewish tradition) while in the cab. Fortunately, the cab and I beat the delivery driver home, so the timing worked out perfectly.

I spent the rest of the evening enjoying my dinner and catching up on my DVR.

Overall, it was a pretty exciting day for me. Lots of fun and family and maybe we started some new traditions as well.

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Home Again (or Missing Dante)

Posted on December 24, 2013 | 1 comment

First of all, before I get into today’s blog, a quick update. I didn’t get the job I thought I was going to get. So I’m staying at my current job for right now. I just hope that it stays better for a while.

I flew to Northern California to see my parents this past Saturday after my work shift. While I was nervous as usual to fly, I was also scared about how I’d feel going into a house without Dante there.

When my dad came to the airport to pick me up, it was fine. I’m used to him getting me without Dante (or my mom). But when we got home, it got a bit weird.

There was no Dante at the door to greet me. I didn’t hear his collar jangling or him drinking water like crazy (he had an issue where he always would drink bowls of water without stopping). There was no dog to snuggle with while I was reading. And there was no dog coming down the stairs in the morning, nosing open the guest room door, and waking me up.

I know that it’s been much worse for my parents. They were here with him 24/7 and now he’s gone. And yes, there has been crying (I’m tearing up as I write this). But we’ve been trying to think of all the happy memories of Dante and the amazing almost 13 years that we had with him (I can’t believe that we had Dante for close to half my lifetime!).

I’ve also had been saying that we need to focus on making sure that we bring Chaucer into a happy home, not a sad home. We need to focus on the excitement of bring Chaucer into the family. And I know it’s a lot of pressure to put on a little puppy, but this dog is exactly what my family needs. We need a distraction. We need some positivity in our lives. We need something silly to laugh at.

As I write this, we do have Chaucer home. I’ll write more about that tomorrow. But I will say that in the day that we’ve had him, he’s done exactly what we needed and more.

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Countdown To Saturday (or I’m Actually Excited To Get On A Plane)

Posted on December 18, 2013 | Comments Off on Countdown To Saturday (or I’m Actually Excited To Get On A Plane)

Saturday is when I go home to see my family. I have a few days off of work so I’ll get to be home for 5 days this time!

While I’m typically panicky and nervous to get on a plane, there are so many things to look forward to on this trip that I’m actually feeling pretty good about this flight (I’m still going to take my panic meds no matter what).

I get to spend time with my parents. I might go with my mom when she gets blood work done so if I do I’ll get to meet some of the nurses and doctors who are involved in my mom’s treatment (I really hope to be able to do that). I’ll make a couple of trips to the gym with my dad, which is a tradition that we always do when I’m home.

I’ll get to see my brother and sister-in-law on Christmas. My family doesn’t celebrate Christmas, so the date is coincidental (it’s a day that both my brother and sister-in-law have off of work). I’m bringing their Hanukkah presents with me, so I’ll get to give them their presents in person instead of shipping them (a rare treat).

A couple of my friends that I grew up with are planning on coming over to my parents’ house while I’m home. We are still working on scheduling, but even if I only get to see one friend while I’m home that will be special.

Hopefully, Dante will hold out until Saturday so I can see him again. It’s hard to tell how he’s doing. My parents tell me that he’s not losing weight (thanks to him eating lots of people food) and sometimes he’s able to go out for his usual walks. But he’s sleeping more than usual and gets very tired easily. But Dante is very excited for the puppy (he has a pretty extensive vocabulary and really does understand lots of things we tell him).

And of course, I’m super excited for Chaucer to get to my parents’ house! It still doesn’t seem real that my parents are getting him. I don’t know if it will seem real until we know exactly what day he’s coming home (or maybe not until he gets home). I’m so lucky that I’m going to be home when Chaucer is supposed to come home. Otherwise I might not get to meet the puppy for several months.

Keeping all these positive things in mind is helping keep my panic at bay for now. I’m sure on Friday I’ll be taking my medicine as usual. But it’s nice to have so much to look forward to!

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