I travelled home a day earlier than planned today. There’s a winter storm happening in Door County starting this evening and raging through tomorrow . . . luckily I have watchful parents on my side who predicted that I would get stuck if we didn’t get me out of the county.
I flew standby today, with Plans A, B, and C lined up but made it back to Austin just after 7 with little hiccups and no need to use the pathetic overnight bag I had with me (a shirt and another pair of underwear stuffed in my messenger bag along with my Ziploc of toiletries) in case I had to overnight in Chicago.
When I got home I chased down my cats for hellos and hugs and immediately made myself unpack (travel tip #1 — I try to always unpack immediately after traveling because I know if I don’t I’ll let the suitcase linger for days. It’s the same with laundry isn’t it? Best to put away right away or it gathers new dust in the basket.)
So I put on my audiobooks (The Moment of Lift by Melinda Gates) and unrolled my clothes (travel tip #2 — I always pack with my clothes rolled; it seems to use the space more efficiently) putting only my previous nights clothes and running wear from this morning into the hamper (travel tip #3 — if you have access to laundry, say at your parents house, do it right before you travel so you come home with clean clothes).
I also motivated myself to do this unpacking chore by ordering Austin’s Pizza (pizza rolls & a caesar salad) and the lure of a new High School Musical: The Musical: The Series episode on Disney+ (which yes, I’m watching, and yes, I love it) in my clean aparatment (travel tip #4 — clean your apartment before you leave so come back to a clean home, minus the new layer of cat hair).
It’s too bad my time with my family got cut a day short, but the bright side is I have an open day at home tomorrow to get settled and ease back into the week, rather than getting home late and having to go to work the next day. And as Thanksgiving was so late this year, I actually see my parents, at least, in three weeks when they come down for Christmas.
So I guess I’ll need to remove a few layers of cat hair from my place before then.
With Love,
Natalie