Remember remember the 12th of December

12 December

What great students I have!  We have everything in order in the classroom for a solid finals week.  And the seniors are in for a surprise:  they will be using their acquired knowledge of heroes, anti-heroes, tragic heroes, villains, and damsels in distress to analyze the literary archetypes in Phantom of the Opera.  I wonder what they'll think about the Phantom, one of the most famous and tragic villains of all time?  They earned this break!  All of their college applications are in, and decisions are about to be made for the early round of admissions.

And I?  Feeling a bit guilty, but so excited to travel to the U.K. and hopefully France in the upcoming weeks.  It all depends upon Brexit and the gilets jaunes (Yellow Jackets) protests.  Blogger autocorrect wants to call them the filet jaunts, which is about the level of my French.  I feel a poem coming on...

Filet jaunts
before Phantom haunts
with tear gas along
the Champs E'lysee...
What a way to pack:
Masks from the Paradise fires
In case I need them in Paris-dise.
Colors for the day:  pink and gray.

Teach school.  Quadruple-check the lesson plans, grades, etc.  Say good-bye to everyone.  Check the packing list.  Again.  Wonder what I've forgotten.  I've been looking forward to this day for so long.

Get into the car and drive to the airport with an hour of stoppage time.  We need it:  Left home at 4:30, arrived at 6:15 for an 8:20 flight.  Fortunately the car park was working.  Glide through check-in easily - I have never checked bags for an international flight, but am feeling "brilliant" as the English say.  I put my own bag inside of my daughter's bag and checked them both.  Not sure how it will be coming back with a huge bag full of stuff, along with mine, but I'll deal with it.  Can't wait to see her!  But first, it's time to find my seat in the very last row.

Alas, the cheap seats are cheap for a reason.  The velcro underneath my seat does not attach the cushion underneath the seat back, so I am sitting on a metal bar.  I do have plenty of leg room, as I'm in a "twin" seat, which means there is no aisle seat next to me, but there is room under the aisle seat in front of me.  This I knew when I booked the seat.  Thankfully, a wonderful steward hangs up my new winter coat, gives me free wine and a nice blanket, so I pad up the back and recline.  Ahh.  Time for reading and a nap.