That's What She Said: 2 days just wasn't enough

I don't even know where to begin with our whirlwind trip. We had an amazing time. It was surreal to see Jeremy. I had completely forgotten how good it felt to hug him, smell him, and just be around him.

Gage and I left Louisville bright and early Friday morning to maximize our time in DC. When we arrived at the airport my little guy was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and elated that he was going to ride on an airplane! He was a perfect little boy and listened to me so much better than I thought he would. We had no problem checking in, going through security, or boarding the plane. He was a dream the entire flight and just as good when we arrived. We managed to collect our bags quickly and make it to the shuttle bus that took us to the Amtrak Station. We upgraded our tickets to get on an earlier train and we were on our way! The trip got difficult once we arrived at Union Station. I had to bring a car seat with me and decided that a backpack for the seat was the best idea. Wrong.

First of all, I looked like a damn turtle with that huge thing on my back. If I had fallen over or backwards it would have been over. That thing was SO HEAVY I just couldn't carry it anymore! We must have been on the caboose of the train because I swear we had to walk a mile just to get to the station when we arrived. The car seat backpack was so heavy that half way to the station I ended up dragging it behind me until someone offered to help me with it. A lady carried it inside for me which was a huge help but then I was faced with the task of finding the VRE ticket booth and entrance/waiting area. I asked FIVE different Amtrak employees for help and all five of them gave me different information and sent me all over Union Station. After about 30 minutes of bad information and dragging an exhausted toddler along with me, I gave up and got a cab. I asked the cab driver specifically if he could take me to a specific location and he assured me he could get me there for about $50. Wrong. Once we got in the car and on our way he said he had "no clue" where it was that I wanted to go. He couldn't get me exactly where I needed to be so I ended up finding our hotel address AND DIRECTIONS and for the driver. We finally pulled up at the hotel with a $75 cab fare plus tip ($83!!!!!). I was livid. The jerk didn't even help me get the luggage out of the trunk! Since we got to our hotel around noon luckily our room was ready so we could check in early and have somewhere to hang out until Jeremy was free for the weekend.

Of course we were starving since we had been up since 5:00 am so we walked across the street to the only convenient restaurant; iHop. Fortunately Gage loves it so we were able to eat and waste an hour. Back at the hotel I had to take a nap (Gage slept the entire cab ride) and Gage watched a movie. We had to waste 6 hours until Jeremy was finally able to come see us. There was a knock at our hotel door so I sent Gage to answer it. His expression when he opened the door and saw his Daddy was priceless. Emotions were running high. There were hugs. Kisses. More hugs. More kisses. It was surreal. I had to step back and admire my husband. He looked so different! His face was so slender and his body- woah! Hello abs! For that moment, everything in the world felt right. It felt normal, natural. We fell right back into the swing of things like a single day had never passed. Some people are just meant to be together.

I was so excited to go to dinner that night with some of the people he had met and I had heard so much about. Of course I was most looking forward to meeting his roommate, Aryn. I totally felt like hugging him when I saw him so I did! He was so incredibly nice and felt like family. Everyone was nice and I was genuinely surprised. I had this preconceived idea that these guys would treat me like the guys in high school treated me or would maybe be stuck up or 'too good to talk to me'. That couldn't be farther from the truth. Each person I met was sincere, honest, professional, and overall a 'nice guy' or girl. They instantly made me feel like I was part of the group and it was awesome. Everyone had a nickname and I'm not quite sure who was who or what everyone's real name was! I was taken aback by the one they call "Maverick". Why do they call him Maverick you ask? Because he looks like a young Tom Cruise! Yes, ladies it is true. He was a ringer for Tommy in his Top Gun days- he even had the aviators! I told Jeremy I wanted to take a picture with him and post it to Facebook, tell everyone I met Tom Cruise, and see how many of you believed me but I chickened out. I was too embarrassed to ask him for the pic!

We spent the next two days lost in each other. We didn't care what we did or where we went, we just wanted to be together as a family. On Saturday we rode the Metro into DC and went to the zoo. It was a huge disappointment. Not only did we have to walk like 6 blocks to the zoo once we got off the train but it was also like 100 degrees and Gage refused to walk. The zoo was pathetic. Although it was free to enter a map cost $2, stroller rental was $9 and and three hot dogs and two bags of chips cost $25. Each animal had a waiting line to view it and the only thing that Gage actually wanted to see, the snakes, were on the other side of the zoo. We made the downhill journey to the reptile house, stood in line to go in and saw about three snakes. We decided it was time to go and while looking at a map realized that the zoo did not make a circle and we had to walk all the way back from where we just came- up hill! We were miserable!

The next day we got up early, thanks to Gage, and went to see Jeremy's training facility. It was incredible to finally see this mysterious place I knew so little about. It was exactly as I imagined and as impressive as I knew it would be. It is nice to have a mental picture of where he is during the day. After a brief tour we headed back out to the car to drive around the facility to see even more. I totally got stung in the stomach by a wasp. Folks, I haven't been stung in years and I swear I wanted to pass out. It was awful. However, I quickly recovered when we pulled into the MCX for a little shopping. Sunday literally flew by. When I looked at the clock it was 5:30 and time to meet the group for their regular Sunday dinner at Cracker Barrel. It was again a blast. It felt like everyone was one big family enjoying a meal together. Dinner was a blur and sadly it was time to head to the airport so Gage and I could head home. Jeremy's friend, Rip, rode with us to the airport. He is awesome. He sat in the backseat with Gage and the two of them laughed the entire trip. I've heard that you can't trust someone who can't act crazy around a child- well you can totally trust Rip! Having him along definitely lightened the mood and helped the dreaded trip be more enjoyable.

Gage and I got stuck at the airport until midnight. Our 9:20 pm flight was delayed due to the horrible weather. It was a very long and difficult wait. Thankfully Gage (finally) fell asleep in his stroller around 10:00 pm. When it was finally time to board the plane I was completely disappointed with the lack of assistance provided by first of all, John Q. Public and second, the entire staff of Southwest Airlines. Not one single person offered to help me with Gage. Here I was pushing a stroller with a sleeping kiddo, pulling our luggage and carrying a bag of crap. I couldn't believe how rude people were and how many looks and huffs and puffs I got for taking so long to board the plane. Here's a tip Southwest- let families with small children truly pre-board before everyone else NOT after the 60 people in group A have already gotten on. We got to Louisville at 1:30 am and I again had to struggle with our checked luggage and that damn car seat. I rented a cart, loaded it myself, and pushed the cart and stroller through the airport and out to the remote parking lot where our car was parked. When I finally got everything loaded it was after 2:00 am and I still had to drive home. Thank goodness for my Momma who talked to me the entire drive home- I wouldn't have made it without her. By 4:00 am I had Gage safely in his bed fast asleep, the car unloaded and I was ready to lay down. I cried myself to sleep when I looked to my left and realized that I was again alone.

The visit was completely worth the all of the time, effort, and money spent. Gage and I desperately needed to see Jeremy and he desperately needed to see us. Today felt a lot like seven weeks ago when Jeremy first left. I've been miserable all day and haven't been able to stop crying. I'm giving myself today to be pouty. Starting tomorrow I'm going to put on my second pair of big girl panties and deal with it. We only have three months left and tomorrow is the second most important day of this process- WE FIND OUT WHERE WE ARE MOVING! The trip was a nice little distraction from the big reveal that is coming tomorrow!

Hopefully tomorrow I'll get my reveal post written faster than today's post. This post was difficult to write through all the tears. Here are few pictures from our trip!