Alternate Reality

(hey, the date's seven eleven :)

Right now, I was supposed to be in a flight to Brazil, maybe eating "dinner" and trying to help the boys to be more comfortable in those horrible seats so they could sleep. But I'm here instead, blogging.

This situation feels a bit like time travel, giving a sensation that you're living something that you were not supposed to be living, like an alternate reality. If I were in the plane, for example, I might be imagining how it would feel to sleep in my own bed, but since I'm here, I imagine how the flight would go and how would the day be tomorrow there in São Paulo.

[At this point in the post I stopped and went to watch Being John Malkovich, which was quite fitting for a night like tonight. Now it's 1:15, but I'm keeping the original time of 11 o'clock for this post. Yeah, time travel, virtual style]

So... what happened? While we were getting ready to leave for the airport, my husband got a recorded message in his cell phone from Orbitz, letting us know that the plane from Philly to Chicago was delayed and that we'd be missing our flight to Brazil. From then on, as a tremendous thunderstorm raged outside we frantically finished getting ready, at this point not even thinking right, which probably made us get ready later rather than sooner. When we got to the airport, the checking in machine told us we wouldn't make it to the flight and that there were no more flights available tonight. Then we had to talk to a real person, who put us in a flight to Washington D.C. and from there to São Paulo.

The only problem is that we're leaving here at 2 p.m. and our flight to Brazil leaves at 9:40! What am I going to do with the boys in the Dulles airport (which I hate) for SIX HOURS? That will be another alternate reality to be reckoned with, much worse than sleeping in my comfy bed tonight. And then, after those six hours, there'll be nine more on a plane with a 5 and a 3 year old. Wish me luck!! I'll keep you updated, if possible.

P.S. and by the way we saw three houses this morning (am I not the craziest of people to do that on a day I needed to travel?) and I think we found another one we like. Much smaller (and cheaper), but I think it's a good option. Especially considering we have to vacate this house in 40 days.

P.P.S. I like traveling like this -- having some extra hours to accomplish what you weren't able to do in the stressful hours preceding the trip. My husband was telling me that when he schedules our next trip he'll tell me that the trip is on one day and as we're about to leave for the airport, he'll let me know it's actually not until the next day. Of course that wouldn't work, but still, it goes to show that we should plan ahead, but we never do.