Getting down to the wire

One week from today, Miles & I will be on a plane to Paris. (Well, actually..... to Phoenix, then Philadelphia, then Paris. But that's the price you pay for cheap airfare.)

I'm feeling pretty confident that we aren't gonna have any last-minute freak outs over getting out the door. Most of our shopping is done. We both have our "urban assault" shoes. We've upgraded our wardrobes. I've started a list of what I need to pack. Miles worked on a make-shift watering system for our garden today. We figured out we can get our museum pass at the airport. Miles ordered cell phones for us to use in Europe. I know exactly where our passports are. The only problem I foresee is deciding which of our 19 guidebooks on Paris we will take.

One week. Huh. I'm starting to feel the slightest bit of excitement, a little flutter of adrenalin at the thought of actually having my first real vacation in 15 years. I am so very ready; the family chaos is starting to really bug me. For instance, just in the last five hours:

- Three out of four of my kids turned up their noses at my grilled ribeye enchiladas, but an hour later wanted a snack.

- Claire was pouring milk into her hand, then scrubbing it onto her face.

- There are large, green leaves on the stairs.

- The little girls got into Kayla's makeup and smeared concealer and nail polish on her mirror.

- Claire decorated her bed, her pillow, and her father with Disney stickers.

- Aeron started to sob when Claire put away a book. "That's MY JOB!" she wailed, face down in the carpet.

- I found a plastic bag with half-eaten sugar snag peas on the family room floor.

- And the cherry on top? The little girls found a puppy and gleefully trapped it in their playhouse. "Can we keep it?!?"

I remember something Pam Sugerman said the day after her wedding. She and Tom were going somewhere fabulous for their honeymoon, and someone made a comment about all the great sites to be seen there. She remarked, flatly, "The only thing I want to see in the first 24 hours is my pillow."

Yeah. That's about right.