The gal who sat next to me

Although the young woman (she seems college-age) was easy to ride by, I did wonder if she'd been raised by feral animals. She ate her nails as if she were a beaver at a tree, gnawing aggressively and constantly, and the end result was not pretty. Her digits resembled stubby pencil nubs, and the associated sounds were disgusting. At one point, she spit a severed nail bit out towards the window with an audible pthu; at that point I nearly lost it. However, dinner then arrived and things devolved a bit more. Not often have I heard such loud, smacky chewing. How the food even stayed inside her gaping chomp hole continues to baffle me.

And then there was the constant hair pulling, stroking, picking and plucking. That thin, ropey strand was worked as if her fingers were a dancer doing a real number on a pole. It was too much, people!

Then there was the visual I was gifted with every time she leaned over- it was enough to make my don my eye mask. This gal was wearing low-rise spandex leggings (these definitely fell into T's inappropriate spandex wearing category) and a shirt that was failing in its job if covering the back forty was the assignment.

And lastly, while I have flown with kids many times and totally understand that at times, it doesn't go well despite best efforts, the flight to Frankfurt did feel like being strapped in a giant, unhappy playpen. Whoa, at least I got tons of reading done!

Giant latte, giant latte... I'm on the prowl!

Thoughts on other travelers

I just love observing folks at the airport, and I'm always left with so many questions, many of them totally vacuous and unimportant.For example, why is the adult woman at my ten o'clock wearing an enormous, appliquéd, v-neck Tweety-Bird shirt. Why?

And what is up with the guy whose head is lazily shaved except for the fringe of greasy curls cascading down his neck? It's a bald mullet gone wrong, and that is really saying something.

At my seven o'clock is a man who looks like he's doing his very best to channel a smarmy 60s/70s used car salesman who fancies hitting the disco at night. Velvet blazer, oversized and tinted glasses and more greasy curls.

Oh MY on the ill-fitting floral-on-black denim jeans worn with puffy black high-tops. Ditto for the blousy, MC Hammer pants in a gray-scale leopard print with navy Converse kicks and a lacy, knit cardigan.

My delicious little boys, at the airport!

I am at the airport checking in for my flight to Florence via Frankfurt. As I felt last time I flew alone, I feel acutely light: haven't I forgotten something? I hope not, but in the meantime, I believe it's just the surreal weightlessness of traveling without the kids. I'm not used to it yet. And while I'm decidedly skilled at saying goodbye when a sitter comes for a few hours or the boys spend a weekend with my in-laws, I find it difficult -surprisingly so, really- to get on a plane without them. Perhaps because a plane trip suggests I'm really going somewhere, probably for more than 48 hours, certainly further than a 20 mile radius from home. Too I noticed that after I married Tom, then following Jack's birth and then Oliver's, flying started to make me not a little nervous. There was -is!- so much to lose. So, the actual point at which I kiss each of those treasures goodbye is the hardest moment.

This morning, in the throes of packing and nearing the last goodbye, I baked cookies for the boys and left them wrapped at the end of a scavenger hunt I made up. There are only four or five clues, but I know they'll love solving each one. Look how cute the final scene is!

Now that I'm in the cog of the airport's wheel, it's back to business. I'm armed with all manner of reading and listening material, an eye mask and my toothbrush. And I'm very much looking forward to seeing all the family and friends swooping into Florence for Elia's wedding. Whee!

20120920-133347.jpg