Red eye

Written at: 2:09am in Vancouver/5:09am in Toronto
Posted after a much needed six-hour *nap*

It occurred to me this week that I’d be embarking on a ritual I very rarely take part in: summer vacation. When I looked back and gave it some thought, I realized that apart from a single week long trip to Hawaii with the family of a girl I used to babysit (whose mother in now one of my very best friends) and a week in Owen Sound, Ontario, the only trips I’ve taken during summertimes past have been quick, in-and-outs weekends. Calgary, Seattle, Victoria, Austin and, of course, many to Portland have been my excursions so far.

Tonight, just before midnight, we boarded a flight destined for Toronto. We’ll arrive at just past seven in the morning in the centre of the universe. If everything goes as planned, we’ll grab our luggage, pick up our rental car and head south (I think) to Kevin’s hometown of Six Nations. We’ll enjoy a full six days darting from event to event while basking in the company of wonderful family and friends.

I’ve never taken a red eye flight before. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I was a little worried about exactly what is happening now happening. What’s happening? Well, I’m staring at the screen of my laptop instead of the inside of my eyelids. I took it as a good sign that Kevin and I were both yawning on the way to the airport, but after a celebrity run in with Chad Johnson, I perked up. After one episode of the Mindy Project (which perfectly coincided with where we left off watching, re-watching in my case, all the episodes on Netflix – sadly, post-Casey, waaah!) and the opening credits of American Hustle, I did manage to sleep, but it probably only lasted for about thirty minutes.

 Since then:

• Woke up.
• Listened to my latest musical obsession.
• Thought about watching The Good Wife episode when Will dies. Couldn’t bring myself to follow through.
• Stared at the scrolling maps. We’re currently just north of Fargo, approaching Bemidji, 1:47 jusqu’à Toronto.
• Moved on to Jimmy Eat World’s tenth anniversary recording of Clarity performed live.

Finally, after much thought and reluctance, I pulled my laptop out of my backpack. This will be it for sleep tonight.

With lacrosse season in full swing and our household still adapting to Kevin’s full-time role as General Manager of a team, this trip kind of crept up on me. When I started to think about actually leaving town, I realized I was really looking forward to the trip. We left tonight and return next Saturday afternoon so that we don’t miss any Adanacs games. He’s We’re dedicated! (I don’t feel so bad about working our holidays around the team’s schedule after talking to one of the coaches’ wives at tonight’s games. She told me that they were picking up their kids after the game and also going on vacation, but only until Monday because, unlike Kevin, coaches have to be at 7pm practice that night. Yeesh.)

Now, Kevin’s snoring beside me, stirring every so often when they show he’s watching ends. The plane is dark and I’m pecking away at this keyboard. All is well because we are on out first summer vacation together. Ontario, here we come!