I got up a little earlier than I needed to, to say goodbye to the Mom. I managed to keep my wits about me, but could feel that the other goodbyes wouldn't fare so well. The Dad and I were supposed to leave with the girls at 9am. I was all packed to go and vacuumed just one last time because the carpet in my room shows everything and I didn't want to look like an inadequate vacuumer. We took a couple of pictures with the kids and then it was time to say goodbye to the boys. The Kid was distracted with his toys, which I was kind of thankful for. I gave him a hug and told him goodbye and the inevitable Kuykendall genes kicked in as I hugged the 13 year old. I really did manage to keep a pretty good lid on it though. Didn't embarrass myself too bad.
I promptly put my sunglasses on and got in the car for the short ride into Paris. They were dropping me off at the airport bus and I had time to compose myself before the next round of adios’. By the time we got there, I was doing OK and hugged the girls and the Dad goodbye. I didn't prolong it for fear I would lose it, so I told them to have a great summer and that I would see them soon. I really hope that’s true.
I made it to the airport and got my giant bags checked. It’s a great feeling to have packed precisely to the pound and not have to deal with lugging them around for the next 16 hours. I had plenty of time, but wasn't all that early. I got past the passport check, which was a great feeling. I get stressed every time I have to show someone my passport, as if they’ll take my nervousness for guilt, which makes me more nervous. It’s a viscous cycle. The flight to Montreal was easy, except for the annoying guy next to me. Even with the crying baby two rows up, the teenager next to me took the cake. Maybe it’s just me, but when you are in between a person you know and a complete stranger, wouldn't you choose the armrest you share with your mom? And it wasn't like he was just resting it on the arm rest. He was well into my seat. Then he kept bumping me with his elbow the whole flight. At one point he was trying to open one of those ridiculously hard to open plastic packages. I think I’m going to have a bruise. Just odd behavior.
The whole flight I spoke French and got away with it. Usually, at airports and on airplanes, they will switch to English if they think you are a native. They assume, and are correct in my case, that their English beats my French. They don’t have time to help me practice I guess. I got to Montreal and dealt with customs there. It took much longer than expected and was happy to have a slightly longer lay over so I didn't have to worry. The people behind me were stressing though. And they were talking about the new True Grit movie. It was on the plane and they were comparing it to the John Wayne version. I got the giggles because they said this one was much better because John Wayne wasn't that good of an actor and some other interesting comparisons. I can imagine a couple of my family members having a differing opinion.
On the plane to Houston, I was just minding my own business, in a fairly empty plane. One of the emptiest planes I've been on in years. I look up and I see a face I recognize. Now, most of you wouldn't know who it was, but he’s an actor on a show I used to watch in high school named James Lafferty. He was travelling with his girlfriend and sat 2 rows behind me reading a script the whole time. This is a very small plane going from one unlikely city to another. I’m still curious as to what he’d be doing in either of them. I can see some googling in my near future.
248 blog posts later and I’m done. It was a good 6 months, we had a good run. But all good things must come to an end.
