Now Where Did I Put That To-Do List?

Plans are coming together, and time is speeding up. All of a sudden, it's time for Bill to get into his frantic before-leaving mode.

Over the years, I have learned to expect some grand project, usually beginning in the two or three days before his departure. There was the one year when 48 hours before getting on a plane, he tore out the entire 2nd floor banisters around the stairwell, leaving a gaping hole with a 14 foot drop in the floor, just perfect for killing sleep-walking toddlers. Then there was the 10-week bathroom renovation that was supposed to take 2 weeks. And the rebuilding of the porch steps that were completed in the dark, 6 hours before we had to leave for the airport. Sigh.

He's gotten better. This time, he's been cutting and nailing trim strips on all the joint-gaps of our 30-sided house. He calls it "finishing building our house," because this simple step was never done. It looks great. I just wonder which will take precedence--packing his seabag, or will he still be out in the freezing cold, sawing and nailing lumber right up until the point of his departure?

I counter by fattening him up. I am baking pies, as fast as my sweet-toothed husband can consume them. Two days ago, it was my Killer-Apple. Today, I was going to do cherry, but Elvin and Debbie just sent the long-awaited Lemon Chess Pie recipe we raved about a year ago when we visited them in Oklahoma in January. I think I'll try my hand at that.

I have tickets for myself for all the legs of my trip except the one to Singapore and back to LA. We are still nervous about buying that non-refundable ticket until he actually gets to Singapore and knows for sure that he will be in a hotel or apartment and the ship won't be suddenly sent somewhere else.

And I too have a million things to do before closing up the house and winging away. I just need to remember everything and find that list...