"Of course I'll go," I said, and I bounced back to my desk. Then it hit me. I would be leaving Derek with our babes for over a week and I'd be gone...not sort of gone, REALLY gone...half way around the world. Too far to get back quickly if something happened. Too far to ship my milk back to Carson. Too far to say goodnight.
As I discussed it with Derek that night, he made my decision for me. I told him about it and he said, "Mandie, a week will go faster than you think, and I'll have help. Get on that plane. We'll be fine!"
So for the middle two weeks in January, we stocked up for Carson, looked for electric converters, located passports, withdrew money from my Amex at work, loaded Skype on my laptop, and tried to wrap things up at the office (laughable.) They dropped me off at the airport and off I flew, headed for Paris.
What I didn't know is that I'd find a love note in the fold of every garment I packed. The entire week, I found drawings from Ella, sweet thoughts from Derek, and even a post-it note with a muddy paw print from Nellie. If only I'd have had a slobbery shoulder from Carson, my whole family could have been there with me.
The trip was great...and while I can't really post pics here, I will say that I got to practice a little french, walk amongst the fashion elite, take a thousand pics of the newest fashion and interior trends, and sip steamy chocolate in a little bistro in Paris that was so rich and thick, it came with a dollop of real whipped cream so it could be thinned to drink. We walked 5 or 6 miles a day and worked our tails off, but it was worth every minute.
We got home on a Saturday night after a 9 hour flight. I spent Sunday morning in a long yoga session, and the afternoon snuggling in bed with my dearest.
Dorothy had it right: there's no place like home.
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