surfing: brand x

1999 august 05

bleary

there ought to be a law against flights that leave before 8:00 in the morning.

i arrived home form the office yesterday to find my parents in the midst of packing mania.

"the doctor gave your mother the all clear," my dad shouted from the guest room.

"we called the airline and for some strange reason they have space available on tomorrow morning's flight," my mother said as she zipped by me, a bundle of clothes straight from the dryer in her arms.

"i guess they're leaving." my beloved gene is nothing if not observant.

i was still standing in the entry hall, more than a little dazed by all the hustle and bustle going on in my usually sedate household. "isn't this all a bit sudden?"

"well, yes," said my mother and she whizzed by in the other direction, this time carrying a bag of garbage, "but if we don't take this flight then we'll have to wait for another week at least and we reckoned you'd vote to have us out of your hair sooner rather than later. besides, we need to get back, what with the europe trip and then this little detour we haven't been home all summer; i'm sure someone needs us there." this last bit was delivered as she once again zoomed past me, carrying a handful of ziplock bags. "for my toiletries, better safe than luggage smelling like green apple shampoo."

"they've been like this all afternoon," gene said, looking up from the magazine he was calmly reading in the front room, "and they didn't even have coffee."

i finally put down my briefcasey-bag thing. "don't get too comfortable," my mother's voice floated out from the back, "as soon as we're done cramming everything into the suitcases, we're taking you two to dinner for our last night together. we want to try and make it an early night since we have to be up at such an ungodly hour."

"ungodly hour? just when does this last minute plane leave?"

"six," said gene, "in the morning. but since it's international, they have to be there around 4:00 or 4:30. glad they're your parents and not mine."

"i see. you'll take the free dinner tonight, but you won't get up early to go to the airport with us."

"yep. i'm a mean one, aren't i?"

good thing my parents adore gene, else i might have smacked him about the head and shoulders.

they finished packing and we all went to dinner [italian! calamari!] and then we came home and went to bed and i woke up at 3:00, an hour when no self respecting working girl should be awake, and gene didn't and i took a shower and woke up the parents and packed them into the car, drove them to the airport, made sure everything was hunkydory before hugging and kissing them goodbye and then i went to work. where i am now. and i have just managed to become awake enough to write this all out.

the dysfunctional company that could is definitely not getting their money's worth from me today.

so after three and a half weeks and a minor tornado there at the end, we have our little house all to ourselves again. i think i'll go home and sleep to celebrate.

yawn! claire

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