I Baaack.

After being away 7 weeks, I am now back at my old Kentucky home. I got here a full 5 days earlier than expected. Let me give the full rundown.

When I left for Maine, I thought I wouldn't have any vacation time to come back and get my things and my family so my wife and I planned that I would come home after work on Wednesday of the Thanksgiving holiday. That would give me 3 days, not counting the holiday which I planned to spend with my family in the mountains, to pack up and leave.

Chris, my boss and nephew-in-law-in-law as he has come to term it, persuaded me to take the whole week of Thanksgiving off since we discovered I had 2 floating holidays that I had to spend before the end of the year or lose them. I also planned to use one vacation day that I would have acquired as of that week. But being the dramatist that I am, making it a surprise came to mind. I decided not to tell my wife I was coming in early. I also discovered I had forgotten that my son was in a play on the Friday night I was arriving. If I had remembered that I would have planned an earlier departure.

I never told my wife I was coming in early and she never knew despite the fact that my mother-in-law had come to KY and spent 2 weeks with her knowing when I was coming and the fact that I wanted to surprise her and despite the fact that everyone else (well almost) at our church knew. I had a friend that works at the Lexington Police Department whom I have helped several time with my previous job pick me up at the air port.

For once most things went as planned. I feared there would be a problem with flights leaving and arriving on time, but this time there was only one 15 minute delay before I left Portland. I arrived on schedule. I must have badly under estimated the time it takes to drive from Cincinnati to Lexington. I had 30 minutes to get to the play which I knew I couldn't make, but I thought an hour would be plenty of time. Despite my police officers best speed and effort it took 1 hour and 30 minutes to get to the church for the play.

The actors were out taking their bows when I tip toed in the back door. I sat and let the play run out. After the lights came back on, I wanted to surprise my wife in some flashy way. Nothing presented itself. I decided to sneak out the side door to call her and lay some ground work for a surprise. Unfortunately her cell was turned off for the play. I poked my head in the side door to see what she was doing when I saw my middle son not too far away and he saw me. He ran to me and cried and cried. This whole daddy being gone had very rough on him. While I was consoling him, my daughter showed up. She grabbed me too. I knew I had to get to my quickly before someone else broke the news before I did. On the spur of the moment, walked over and sat down next to here and said "I don't think I like the way that play ended." I've never seen such a look of surprise before. (Well, maybe when I purposed, but that is another story.) I won't forget how nice it was for everything to finally be right again.

More news on events to come.....