I Left With a Bang

I spent all morning yesterday packing for my trip to Utah to stay with my mom and attend Education Week. I kind of forgot that I also had to pack Reese and AJ for their trip to my sister’s house, where they (and KitKat) will be staying while I’m away. Exciting morning. Packing, folding laundry, and trying to leave the house in a somewhat decent state.

The time came for the family to drop me off at the airport. I was ready. I was calm. CandyMan grabbed my bags to load the car. Three of the kids were playing outside. I walked out the the front door to see if anyone needed a last trip to the bathroom or shoes or whatever. Surprisingly, CandyMan was standing next to a closed van, and I casually asked, “Do you not have the keys?” I wasn’t worried at all. KitKat and Twizzler were in the house.

I’m sure you can guess what happened next. As I turned to go back to the house, I heard the front door close. I asked the question I knew the answer to already: “KitKat, did you lock the door?”

“Yeah, Mom. Why?”

No keys.

Locked out of the house with no way to get to the airport and no time to call friends to deliver a spare key. CandyMan walked around to the backyard for just a minute and came back with a look in his eyes.

He approached the door with shocking speed.

No, he wouldn’t, I thought….

Yes, he would.

BANG! His foot slammed into the door. Bang! Bang! Bang.

And the door opened right up.

Daddy turned to the family and calmly said, “I just want you to know I didn’t do that out of anger. I just knew that we needed to get into the house fast and that was the fastest way to do it. I’ll fix the frame later.”

It made for quite the exit. I made it with plenty of time, even with the enormous lines. And other than the fact that I was allergic to something on the plane and landed in Utah with red eyes and a runny nose…..Oh, and the fact that I finished my book (a rather disappointing read) with an hour and 50 minutes left in the flight…..the day was pleasant and the travel uneventful.

Other than the broken down door, of course.

Mom and I stopped at my sister’s house for dinner and some visiting. My oldest nephew (the one in my sister’s lap) stole my heart when he gave me a big hug. I don’t get to see them often enough. My niece, on the other hand, spent the first hour staring at me. It was hilarious to look over after a bite of food and see her looking up at me with big eyes.

After dinner, we drove to my mom’s house, where I met my newest nephew for the first time. I can’t wait to hold him again today.

I got a whole 8 1/2 hours of sleep (unheard of!) and the stress is already rolling off of me as I sit in a quiet house.

This week is going to be amazing.

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