Sometimes, I think it’s better to have an early morning flight. The evening departure left too much time to think, and packing took all afternoon. I had time for a morning run, “Schnauzerthon,” laundry, gift opening, trash duty and even some writing, while watching the Red Zone coverage of the Bears 11th victory of the season. I was noticeably anxious all day long to finally get on the plane and have the 4-hour flight behind me. As a result, I was not in a good mood, especially after we were routed to overflow parking, a long walk with the luggage to the terminal shuttles. My bag was also overweight but TSA-Pre easily made up for that minor hassle. I’ve even lugged along my full-length winter dress coat in anticipation of the freezing temperatures common at this time of year.

My wife gifted me a new wallet for Christmas, much needed after washing my old one twice in the last few weeks. I’ll need to do a better job of checking my pockets so I don’t ruin this fashionable new leather Salvatore Ferragamo model. In addition, she cleverly loaded the credit card slots with movie and dining gift cards, and even included some much needed cash, especially after seeing that I overspent my retirement budget on her much-desired antique opal ring. As part of the deal, I’m also getting a new iPhone 10R that hopefully has a larger keyboard to accommodate my chubby fingers. I’m currently typing awkwardly on my older model that I will trade-in at the Verizon store. We’ll also have her old phone to add to the transaction following a recent corporate upgrade.

The flight was on time and Chicago weather looks clear, so my anxiety is waning. There was just too much energy expended in anticipation. At this point, we’re half-way there with only a few screaming babies. I’m reading the new Alex Cross book by James Patterson titled Target, after updating my 2019 resolutions and bucket list. It’s all an effort to pass the time confined to a coach seat and being constantly bumped into by those headed to the restroom and passing drink carts. I’m more than ready to fast-forward to the ball dropping and the dieting to begin.

My friends keep trying to cram-in more get-together’s. I would naturally love to see everyone in the city where I spent about 20 years of my life but there’s just too many things on the agenda. I’ve already squeezed-in a couple extra stops, and have tried to keep this visit as secretive as possible. There will definitely be no Facebook posts announcing my whereabouts.

Tomorrow will come early after losing three time zones. Following a couple hours of restless sleep in a Hammond Courtyard by Marriott and a quick morning run, we’ll re-pack our luggage and hit the Hoosier roads. There will be no time for writing, considering at least four hours of highway driving and multiple stops for my 97-year old mother-in-law. Christmas eve dinner is at my wife’s sister’s house, followed by an active Christmas day with my wife’s family. My next post will probably follow a much-anticipated gathering with a group of strangers that DNA indicates to be half-siblings. I will try to capture the emotions of that priceless encounter in a “Diary of an Adoptee” article on this site. I have been writing these updates over the past two years as part of a quest to find my birth parents. What a long strange trip that has been! This plane trip is just another chapter in the continuing mystery surrounding my life. Will there finally be answers, or just more questions?