linda may

May 5 It’s rainy and gloomy. I pick my daughter up from her sleepover and she reports having gotten 5 whole hours of sleep (about what we expected) but seems in good spirits.

Today I am driving to the coast for a conference at work. On the bright side, my expenses will be paid while I’m there. On the other hand, I know Nate is dreading my absence, the prospect of single parenting for four days & nights and caring for our very old (and now incontinent) dog. I make the 2 hour drive to Seaside in our new car without stopping, completely absorbed in a Ken Follett audiobook the whole way.

May 6 I awake shortly after 5am, and spend the day setting up and networking at our company table. By the time I leave the convention center at 6:30, I am bone tired. I change into pajamas and climb into bed by 7. Curling up with a book has rarely felt so satisfying. Around 8:30 I begin nodding off, waking up around 3 to turn off the lights and close the blinds.

May 7 When my alarm goes off at 5:40 I feel superbly rested. I make tea, drink water, read some affirmations and do my stretches. For a few minutes I sit on the balcony of my hotel listening to the seagulls cry and watching the clouds roll over the rooftops of the little beach town. I go for a brisk 1 mile walk/jog along the beach, and see beachgoers and seabirds digging for clams.

While getting dressed, I reach for the lotion I keep in my purse and realize it is empty. I stick my pinky all the way into the tiny bottle – nothing. I check my makeup bag – I packed no other lotion. Those of you who may have read my post about having just slightly too many containers of lotion are shaking your heads right now. This is truly a Lotion Debacle! Luckily, this item qualifies as a travel “incidental,” so it is an allowed expense in the eyes of my employer (and the federal government). On my lunch break I drive to Rite Aid and look for a tiny travel bottle of my lotion – they don’t have the kind I use, but I feel sort of desperate, so I settle for what’s on offer. On the off chance the selection is better next door, I walk into Safeway and check their lotion selection – they have it! But… it’s the “value size.” Again, I know I have too many bottles of lotion at home, but I am out of THE LOTION I LOVE. I buy it. And I walk in to my afternoon conference workshops slathered in the stuff.