#1 Thursday, March 6 We Are on Our Way

Okay, I don't care who you are; 4:00 am is too early for anyone to get up, even if we are leaving for Italy in an hour and a half. Anyway, I literally drag myself out of the bed to get ready. After two cups of coffee and a bowl of oatmeal (Oatmeal just does not taste as good at 4:00 am as it does around 8:30 am while I sit in my swing and watch the birds at the feeders.), I am ready to go. Lance gets me loaded up after twenty questions of, "Do you have . . . ?", and we pick up Mrs. Mary Kat and head to Indianola Academy.

We check in with Debbie to prove we have our passports and money and then scout out a spot on the bus. My traveling buddies Shirley and Cathy arrive, and after hugs and kisses all around, we are Atlanta bound. We ride for six hours discussing every topic under the sun, while for me re-establishing some acquaintances in some cases and forming new friendships in others. We eat our box lunches and arrive at the airport to get checked-in and wait to board our plane for an eight-hour flight. We get settled in our seats and are on our way.

Shirley, Cathy, Mrs. Mary Kat and DK: Look out Italy! Here we come.

Naturally, in trying to teach me patience, the Lord to whom I am giving credit along with the airline, puts me in the middle seat of a three-seat row. "Stuck in the middle with you" runs through my mind as the Italian man to my right manages to use me for a pillow for half the flight, and while the woman next to me, who is pleasant enough, struggles to get out of the seat each time I need to get up to go to the restroom or to walk around to fight off cabin fever and getting stiff (Getting stiff is what happens to us older people, and it keeps our lives interesting.). Note: There is something unnatural about traveling in such close quarters and trying to sleep, one of the most intimate and vulnerable times in our daily routine. I am renewing my promise to myself to fly first class at least one time in my life. I hope my pocket book will agree. Two movies later (August Rush and Jane Austen Book Club) the morning finally dawns over the Alps as we begin our descent to the Milan airport.