KC Travelogue, Part Deux

After sleeping for ten! hours!, I called Warren.

"Hi honey," I yawned.

"Are you just waking up?" he asked.

"Uh-huh," I answered a bit sheepishly, knowing Warren had already had a full morning getting the kids dressed, fed, and off to school.

"I'm in Collierville digging up a cemetery," he half-laughed as I continued to yawn.

"How did it go last night?" I asked.

"Fine," he said.

"Did Jiro look for me this morning?"

"Yeah he got up around six with his blankie and ran into the back bedroom. I followed him and when he didn't see you, I picked him up and hugged him so he wouldn't be sad."

Oh my god.

"Don't worry, he was in a good mood and I got them both to school on time," he offered.

"That's good," I said, both happy and sad. "I'll call you later after you pick them up, okay?"

I took a leisurely shower and then blew dry my hair (a first in three and a half years). I went to register at the conference and see what was going on. Not much was happening so I walked over to the adjacent shopping mall to buy presents for the boys. (I got a fancy car coloring book, superhero stickers, a crazy eights game, an Eric Carle color it yourself book, a multicultural matching game, and the George W. Bush and Family paper dolls book featuring W in a wife beater, boxers, and cowboy boots.)

Next, I grabbed a salad, did some people watching, and really wished that I had a laptop. I was enjoying my anonymity and was shocked when someone popped her head by my table and said, "Glad to see I'm not the only one skipping out." It was a Niki, a nice woman from Indianapolis that I met the day before on the shuttle to the hotel.

"Yeah, I'm off to a bit of a slow start today," I said between bites of my frozen custard concoction. (Sensing a theme yet?)

Back at the Hyatt, I discovered the business center which allowed me to use the Internet at the rate of $5.00 per half hour. That was cool for checking email, but I couldn't get my blog on with the clock ticking and an attendant sitting just a few feet away.

I attended a few sessions and chatted with Niki. We talked utilities for a bit, but quickly turned to more interesting topics. "Do you have any kids?" I asked.

"I'm actually expecting my first right now," she said as she patted her teeny tiny belly.

She so didn't look pregnant. She must be in her first trimester, I thought to myself.

"It's a boy," she announced excitedly.

How can this tiny thing be at least twenty weeks pregnant? I wondered. "I have two boys," I said. "They definitely keep me on my toes." I was happy to reveal myself as a mom and talk about choosing names, buying baby clothes, etc.

After the last session, I went back to my room and read the "Mothering" magazine I had neglected the day before. Then I put my head down for a nice, quiet nap.

A nap!

My cellphone rang and startled me awake. "I'm in the lobby," Amy chirped happily.

"I'll be right down," I said trying to mask my grogginess. I checked my face for sleep lines, grabbed the fleece Amy loaned me the night before, and headed down the elevator.

We headed toward the really schwanky part of town that I had read about months ago in the Commercial Appeal. The write up they did on a movie house that had leather chairs and cocktails had stuck with me and I asked Amy to investigate.

While waiting for "Elizabethtown" to start, I reclined in my leather lazy boy, sipping a Boulevard Pale Ale, and called the boys. "Did you get my present?" Satchel asked immediately.

"Yes I did," I said.

"Is it a white Power Ranger?" he asked.

"No, it's a surprise," I said.

"Is it a monster truck?" he persisted.

"No, it's not a monster truck," I said.

"Is it a hot wheel?"

"No."

"Is it a bicycle?"

"Is it a ballerina costume?"

"No, it isn't a ballerina costume," I laughed.

We went on like this for awhile until I convinced him that I wasn't going to tell. I sent everyone my love and settled in for the movie. Our waiter brought us spinach and artichoke dip, toasted ravioli, chicken quesadillas, and popcorn. We didn't even come close to eating everything, but we enjoyed trying. The movie was pretty good and I have to say that I had a really nice time.

To be continued...