Crying In My Diet Coke

Vacation is over and I am sad. I'm not getting too much sympathy since in just 11 weeks, it'll be summer break. Eleven weeks is a long time, people!

The last part of Spring Break was a whirlwind. Wednesday night, Big D, Bear, & I went to the rodeo. Lamb opted not to go since she already had the rodeo/concert experience. She's a sweetie and said it was Bear's turn. It was Big D's 1st time to see the Houston Rodeo. I think he had fun. The only night that really worked for us, Fergie was the entertainment. I was a little concerned but it was for naught. She dressed appropriately and, except for @ss, the language was appropriate. Let me tell you, the girl can entertain! She was charming and can sing live! She also did a lot of rock covers. I guess she doesn't have enough of her songs to fill a concert. I enjoyed that, but Bear didn't know a lot of the cover songs. All in all, it was a fun night.
Then at the crack of dawn Thursday, we were up. Big D *really* wants to experience a Yankee game at Yankee Stadium before they move to their new one. Last summer, it just didn't work out for us. The ONLY way we can go back to NYC is to have free airfare/free hotel. We have 3 free flights already and were only 1 point away from a 4th. The cheapest way to get that point was to have me fly one-way from Houston to somewhere in Texas. We chose Corpus Christi since it's fairly close & only $29). Not thinking that we'd be up late with the rodeo/concert, we chose the early flight. My flight was at 8:30am. Big D wanted to get me there at 6:30am so that I'd have plenty of time to go through security. I was a little nervous traveling by myself. The last time that happened was wayyy before 9/11 when I could be walked up to my gate.

Big D is an experienced traveler and knows the airport extremely well. As he knows my inexperienced, nervous nature is his nature, he told me exactly where I needed to go and what I needed to do. He even printed out my boarding pass for me before we left the house. We got to the airport later than planned, but Big D still felt like we'd all be arriving in Corpus at the same time. So I kissed the family good-bye and started my adventure. I got through security quickly & with no problems. And I had a LONG time to wait for my flight.

The flight was uneventful. I got off the airplane & called the family. Big D was a little shocked that I was already in Corpus. He figured by the time I was able to de-board the plane, it'd be 10am. I was calling at 9:10am. They were still about 50 miles outside of Corpus. So I settled in for another long wait.

Unfortunately, I was right by security so I saw all the sad good-byes and strange hellos. There was a family saying good-bye to their military son. That was the hardest to witness. The mom was video-taping him going through security, walking down to his gate. When he was out of sight, she broke down. I was crying right along with her. Praying for his & the other troops safety. Praying that he'd be coming home to them and the mom could cry tears of joy then. It was heart wrenching being there. Another family was saying good-bye as well. After their loved one walked to his gate, they stuck around. I guess they were waiting for the plane to actually take off. Between the 2 good-byes, a mom & her 2 daughters walked up. They waited and waited. Finally, I overheard one daughter ask if the mom even knew what the girl looked like. The mom replied no she didn't but that she'd be wearing a dress. Strange comment right? When I took in their dresses & long, beautiful hair, I didn't find it so strange. The mom was concerned so she kept 1 daughter in the area with me and took the other daughter to see if they could find any info. I was keeping vigilance with her. My curiousity peaked. I see this girl walking down with such confidence & style (even tho her clothes were a tad outdated). Her hair was adorable as were her shoes. The daughter called out a name and the girl responded to her. This was the mystery guest. She just exuded presence. As the daughter mentined they'd be roommates and hope she had fun with her, she looked dowdy compared to the girl. And she wasn't a dowdy girl. The new girl was very gracious and eager to set the daughter's mind at ease. The daughter found her mom & sister and introductions were made. I hope it's a wonderful experience for all of them.

Right at 10, I get the call that my wait is over. The family is ready to meet me outside. We head to the beach to walk around. It was way too cold to swim. We saw so many cool things tho. Hubby is an adventurer/explorer at heart. He likes nothing better than to find fascinating things & teach the kids about them. Then we headed to the aircraft carrier, U.S.S. Lexington. Big D has always wanted to go on it. After having only 4 hours sleep, I was pooped. We headed to our hotel. WooWhee! Aren't we fun? We woke up the next morning and drove home.

A whirlwind adventure all over way too soon. I'm not ready for the daily grind again!