You Don't Know What You've Got Until It's Gone

And I'm talking about clean underwear. Yup, that's what I'm talking about.

I don't know where to start because it's been quite the day.

I guess I'll start where I left you last night -- hovering next to a wall outlet in the Denver airport, tired and full of McDonald's snack wraps sans fries or pop. My flight that was supposed to leave at 7 p.m and didn't actually leave until 11:30 p.m. We pulled into the gate at 1:45 a.m. That's 3:45 a.m. my time.

When we got there, of course all of the rental car places had shut down for the night. I called the hotel shuttle who told me I couldn't call for a ride until I had my luggage. I waited for hundreds of pieces of luggage to come down to discover that mine wasn't there. I stood in a long line to report it missing. When I got to the line, Alaska airlines said, "NOrthwest has it -- down at carousel 8" so I walked several miles (OK, so I exaggerate) to that carousel and FOUND MY SUITCASE! I was so excited -- until I realized that it was locked up and I couldn't get to it until morning.

So, I called the shuttle back, and then waited for at least 20 minutes for it. I didn't pull into the hotel room until about 2:45 this time (4:45 my time) and fell into bed exhausted.

Got up at 6:30 and had a shower, getting dressed in dirty clothes without the underwear. I NEVER go without underwear, but this time I just had to do it. The guy I'm travelling with took me to the airport and dropped me off to get my suitcase and the car.

If there would have been anyone taping me changing in the bathroom it would have been comical. The stall had a sink in it and I set my stuff in it -- makeup bag and sweatshirt -- not realizing that it was an auto turn-on faucet (which, had I been trying to get to turn on wouldn't have) and the water started pouring on it. Then I tripped, dropped some stuff --- it was a comical nightmare. And I had so little time.

I ended up being 30 minutes late to my speak -- they had to start without me, adn I came in exhausted and disoriented and "off" as well as exhausted. I sort of pulled it together by the time I finished, and we had a great lunch with an adoption professional from this area that I really enjoy.

I came back to the hotel around 3 p.m. and crashed til 6 when I woke up just a mess. Groggy, in a fog ... you know the feeling. Had some supper and now it's 8:15 here, and though I have so much I should do, I think I'm going to have to just go to bed and wait until morning. Maybe I'll wake up early and have some energy to do things, because right now I'm just, as my daughter would say, "not feeling it."

Bart reports that everyone is doing very well at home. He took the kids to a movie tonight that everyone liked and they are doing very well. That always makes me feel better about being gone.

And I'm good now. I have lots of clean underwear.