The best laid plans...

I had the most fabulous weekend planned. It was going to be perfect. My teenagers were going to be at Youth Conference, so that gave me an excellent chance to go out of state without being missed.

Otherwise, who else would make the job lists? Son #5 had invited me to their baby gender reveal in Elk Grove. It was to be held Saturday. I have never been to a reveal before since I'm old and most of my gender reveals were called delivery. So that was going to be super fun.

Then I found out that my parents are going to put our family home on the market in the near future. Before the reveal, I could drive down to Dos Palos and rescue the heirlooms that were in storage at the house. To make it even more exciting, I was going to stay with the darling Rhonda Crivelli who still lives in my home town. I had visions of all the pictures I would take of my parent's place and the little town I grew up in, and then I would blog about it.

My only picture from my "would be" weekend

Well, the airport miracle that happens before I make the flight didn't happen for me. I was the last of 3 standbys called to the gate. The door was to shut in 5, 4, 3 minutes. I was ready to board and then up walked a distressed passenger with a ticket. Phew, she made it. I did not. It was her day for a miracle. I would have to take my turn another time.

I was trying to be brave when I realized my weekend had just gotten very unfun, and my bags were on the way to Sacramento. Well, I don't like unfun weekends so I'm going to recount the great parts of my pretty boring days, in-state, without my blow-dryer.

1. I witnessed some excellent customer service. My ticket agent was cheerful and relaxing and I'm sure not a little diffusing for summer travelers. On the train there was a flight attendant who wasn't actually working yet helping an elderly gentleman navigate the train and the gates. She volunteered to look up another passenger's gate information and was just so stinkin' helpful. I want to be like her. I shopped for groceries at Publix and was offered assistance out to the car so convincingly that I accepted. And when I took the just-purchased-money-pit-of-a-used-car-for-the-teenagers to the dealer for expensive repairs, they offered me a rental car to use until my broken car was mended.

2. I spent time visiting with people I love. I got to talk on the phone with the darling Rhonda Crivelli, and while it's not the same as being there, I haven't talked to her in years. Her happiness and cheerful nature oozed through cellular land and made my heart smile. My 19 yr. old and I talked around the table like we never get to do when everyone else is home. I love that kid. My lovely friend, Rebecca and I drove to the temple where I saw another lovely friend, Jodie. This is the second time I have seen Jodie at the Atlanta temple which is impressive since she lives in Kansas. I'll count that as a miracle. I chatted with Carrie and Mallory for a bit, and I had some laughs on the phone with my sister, Melinda, which we were trying to avoid since she's 3 days post-op.

3. I also made myself  present for the skyping of a mission call. This was a big deal and definitely worth staying home from a trip for. This new missionary will be going to the Arizona-Phoenix-North mission. It's nice when southern boys can stay warm.

4. And tonight I get to watch any movie I want with no imput from anyone outside my demographic. "Pride and Prejudice" it is.

5. Tomorrow, since this is 2014, I'll just watch the gender reveal on Skype. Remember when there was no Skype or cell phones or internet or computers or ultrasounds? Life is so great now. I guess every day is a miracle.