Travel Tales, From Hellos to Goodbyes, and Editor Set Deadlines👩‍💻

Hello and Happy Wednesday!

I’m heading back to Tennessee today. In fact, I’m sitting at the airport now. Made it through with no issues, other than moving slower because of my twisted knee. I’m looking forward to seeing my Sweetheart and our fur babies, but I hate leaving my sister and niece.

We always have such fun girl time, and at the rate my niece is growing, I really wish I lived closer. Visiting several times a year is never long or often enough. Moving is something I hope is in the near future. I’d love to move to another country like Italy, but honestly, I’d settle for simply being closer to my sister and niece.

Now for my airport experience… today was much better than my trip here. Apparently, Southwest has become stricter than in previous years. Coming out was stressful—yes, my bag was overweight, but the charge they wanted was outrageous. Luckily, I managed to shuffle things around and ended up checking two bags, which split the weight. Since two bags were already included with my ticket, it worked out.

This time, I came prepared. I borrowed a roller cart from my sister because even after moving heavier items into my carry-on, my big bag was still two pounds over. With the cart, though, everything was handled from the start.

As I mentioned, I twisted my good knee on the way here. I considered asking for help to get to the gate, but being the stubborn little thing I am, I chose to walk it out. I was told to keep my braces on (yes, I look like a walking accident—knee braces on both knees and a wrist brace), but of course, I had to take them off anyway for screening. They ran them through the x-ray, wanded me, and even tested my hand. Honestly, it might have been faster just to take them off right away. Still, it went smoothly, and I may have even helped the TSA agent settle a question she’d been debating.

A little backstory: I was hurt while working TSA (Dual) years ago. At the time, I was working baggage when I got injured. Workers comp took six months to approve surgery, and during that wait I kept working—only to tear cartilage in my other shoulder, which they later denied. That supervisor was… not a nice person, and I’ll leave it at that.

But back to today—it’s been good. I woke up early to hug my niece before school, then spent some extra quality time with my sister talking about one of our favorite topics: the paranormal.

Once I’m home, it’s back to work. I’ll be spending nearly every free moment polishing Dangerous Desires. I have most of it back from my editor, so my next steps are finishing the epilogue, rewriting Chapter 6, and tackling the list of extras: title page, copyright, dedication, table of contents, acknowledgements, about the author, and more.

My editor gave me a firm deadline (not me this time!), so I’m psyching myself up. I CAN DO IT! I CAN DO IT! I HAVE TO DO IT! 😜

I’ll end this post with a wish and a hope that your week—and weekend—is filled with hugs, love, laughter, and blessings.

See you in the air! ✈️