Busy Times

The fall season is defnitely the busiest around here. We are heavy into football with Younger Son, a high school junior, playing JV and varsity. We also make as many Auburn games as we can and if we're not there in person we're watching them on TV. And the boys have tickets to the Titans' home games this year.

We are also in a season (that will probably go on for a while) where we have a lot of friends whose children are getting married. Wife, Older Son and I will hop a plane for Dallas in the morning and attend one of those weddings. The young man getting married is a longtime friend of Older Son's from Little Rock, and his parents are good friends to Wife and me. It will be a quick trip but will be worth the effort.

Daughter and her friend who lived with us over the summer are coming in later today and will go to tonight's game with us, then stay the weekend, even though we're leaving early in the morning. They'll have fun hanging out at home, though, and watching out for Younger Son.

It is during this busiest of times that Wife has chosen for us to go on our 25th wedding annversary trip. Readers might remember from an earlier post that she saved the money for and planned this trip.

We will fly from Atlanta to Barcelona next Thursday. Not having to board a plane in Nashville means we don't have to add another leg to the flight and for flying-averse people such as Wife and me, that is a good thing. We can make the short drive to Atlanta and get a direct flight.

We will be in Barcelona a couple of days before we get an a cruise ship that will take us to ports along the Mediterranean in France and Italy. I am sure it will be a lovely time. Not only did Wife plan the trip, she has also made all the arrangements for tours and excursions.

The good thing about cruising is that there is a minium of packing and unpacking and trying to find places to eat. I have only done one previous cruise, to Alaska with the whole family in 2006, and I loved it.

If there is a negative, I'm sure it will be that we will hit some high points but not have as much time as we might prefer. But hey, I am not in any way complaining.

As I have gotten older, some of my mild fears about certain things have grown into greater fears and some of the things I once had no problem with, welll, those things now bother me. Like flying, for instance. I no longer enjoy it. From going through security to being cooped up in that cabin to landing and taxiing to the gate, I just don't care for it. I feel a lot safer and more in control on the ground.

Funny, when we got married, Wife was the white-knuckle flier and I was not very patient with her. Somewhere along the way, though, I caught it from her. So I am no longer much help to her as I am just trying to get through it myself.

All that to say, I won't be dropping in here for a while. I go to Dallas tomorrow, get back late Sunday then work in Memphis Monday through Wednesday before leaving for our big trip next Thursday. We get back to Atlanta on the 10th but will spend a couple of days with Daughter at Auburn before we finally come home on the 12th. Her new members are being initiated and she will be speaking at a banquet, so we need to be there. Also thought it would be a good way to crash and get over jet lag before we re-enter real life.

For those of you who pray, I would ask for the following entreaties:

-- That there are no terrorist attacks in any country while we are gone, especially those we are visiting.

-- That the plane on which we are flying, each way, will take off, cruise and land in a smooth, non-remarkable way.

-- That Older Son and Younger Son, staying together at our house, will be safe and that Older Son will use the wisdom and maturity of his almost-24 years should any decisions need to be made of any importance.

-- That I won't have to take the Valium that a friend has given to me just in case a panic attack comes my way. More specifically, that there would be no such panic attack.

-- That Wife and I are safe on all parts of this journey and that we will return rested and refreshed.

Talk to y'all later . . . .