Travel Spaz

I learned something else on that trip to London, besides how lucky I am. I learned that I am a spaz when I travel by myself. The week was busy, it’s never easy to plan a big disruption in the middle of the week. And - me leaving in the middle of the week for an overnight and all of the kids going to different houses to sleep - was a big disruption.

Monkey had swimming, so he needed his swim bag. He and Miss B went to one friend’s house for the night, so they needed their overnight bags. AJ went to a different friend, he needed his bag. I needed my bag for an overnight. It gets to be a lot to pack and a lot to remember, just for one night.

Fortunately, my writer/lawyer brain categorizes everything and remembers the tiniest of details, from Monkey’s inhaler to snacks and swim bags. Unless, of course, it is something critical that I need for myself.

The last time I traveled by myself to London was for a writer’s conference. And I missed my train connection. I just read my ticket wrong or something and I missed my train. Anyone that knows me, knows I don’t do stuff like that. Normally.

Today, on the train from La Hulpe to Midi, I realized I forgot my Belgian id card. I had my passport of course, but not my id. I spent a solid twenty minutes in a panic sweat about it. What should I do? Taking the train back to La Hulpe to get it would take hours. I decided to go ahead anyway and see what would happen. They rarely ask for it on the way out of the EU, and once I was out, I could worry about getting back in later.

Well, the border agent asked for my Belgian ID. Of course. But somehow, someway, I got a really nice border guard. With a smile she gave me a stern warning to always carry it with me (reminding me once again about the power of a U.S. passport). 

In the end, my worry and panic was for nothing. Well, not really for nothing. I walked away with a lot of mental notes about what the panic felt like and how worried I got about something that turned out to be nothing. 

Now, the next question, which of my characters needs to worry about an interrogation? Because now I know exactly how to write the scene.