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Health & Fitness

Tidbits From the Queen of Chaos: The Fantasy Vacation That Wasn't

My husband's attempt to surprise me with a trip that was nothing of what I expected.

Before I tell this story and if you follow it to my blog, I want to go on record as saying that I know I am not going to come off well in it. I always told Leo that my fantasy was for him to arrange for a babysitter (at the time, we only had Nico), pack my bags for me and whisk me away to some exotic place. For my 30th birthday, we were in Wisconsin with my family and at midnight, when Leo said, "Happy Birthday", I burst into tears (I was not in a good place at the time. I had been trying to get pregnant for two years and it wasn't working but that is for another post).  Seeing that I was upset, he asked if I wanted to open my gift. I perked up because who doesn't like getting gifts? He paused and said, "Well, you already met Troy Aikman (at the time, that was the equivalent of meeting Tim Riggins/Taylor Kitsch) and in November, I have a surprise trip planned (so much for the whisking away part) and we are in Wisconsin with your family." Then he sat there staring at me until I said, "So basically, you have no gift for me to open right now?" He paused again and then as if saying and thinking at the same time, he said, "And also...a $200 shopping trip to your favorite clothing store." I laughed and said, "If you think I am going to let you off the hook later because you just came up with that, you are wrong. I'm spending it."

In October, Leo said I needed a passport for our trip. A PASSPORT!!! I was so going to Jamaica or maybe Mexcio! Maybe Italy!! November came and I had no idea how to pack (which is why I wanted that part to be included in the whisking away). When I asked Leo, he said, "Just pack for weather like it is here." I looked outside at the cold, wet dreary day and said I hoped where we were going had better weather (Jamaica didn't look like that) and he said, "Oh, yeah...not like that. Just pack summer clothes." I was sooooo going to Jamaica! We were going for over a week so I packed two little suitcases of summer clothes. Surprises make me a little nutty so I would try and get Leo to tell me where we were going. At the time, Leo LOVED watching professional soccer (so much so that he would give me suggestions of guys he knew I'd think were cute so I wouldn't complain. Love David Beckham) so when he suggested I pack an umbrella, I told him that a vacation to London to watch a professional soccer game would be his fantasy vacation, not mine. He laughed and said that wasn't it and stop trying to figure it out.

We were driving in the limo to the airport and Leo looked at me and said, "I hope you brought summer clothes." Like an idiot that didn't know where she was going for over a week, I said all excitedly, "I SO did!" I couldn't wait to sit by the pool, sip a frozen drink, listen to my music and read a beach novel in peace. Jamaica, I was on my way!! I was so blinded by my desire to go to Jamaica that I didn't see or chose not to see all the signs of where we were really going. When we arrived at the airport, the first thing I saw was a single guy Leo worked with and I remember thinking how strange it was that he was going on vacation the same time we were. Then I saw another guy Leo worked with standing there with his wife that I had met once. Leo made fun of me that I still didn't know where we were going even though we were at the Virgin Airlines desk. How did I know the only place they flew was to London? I was going to Jamaica. When I looked at the flight board and saw London, my heart fell. Leo, all excited said in front of everyone who was waiting for my reaction, "So, do you know now? Do you know where we are going?" Then, I pulled off the academy award winning, fakest excited reply I could muster and said, "Oh, my God!!! We're going to London!!"

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To find out how the trip unfolded, go to www.tidbitsfromthequeenofchaos.blogspot.com

 

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