Wednesday, May 29, 2024

We came….we have much to eat


 




























Did I mention we flew Delta One?  It was awesome treat for sure.  I lucked across $699 upgrades.  That meant eating and waiting in the Sky Lounge in Minneapolis WAY more comfortably. But it also meant having a suite in the plane with doors and lots of storage space and being able to go from sitting to lying flat or anywhere in between on the 13+ hour ride to Incheon. It will be hard to fly economy on our mileage Korean Air tickets to Hawaii next week. But they were free so no complaints. 

A day and a half in Seoul. Maybe not that much.  We arrived arrived to our apartment around 430pm.  We settled and went to eat and check out Hongdae shopping. We decided right then this trip was going to be about eating and shopping and maybe a couple of new and old things. We’ve done a lot over the past 3 trips!  But this is our last so a bit more relaxed and completely unplanned. 

Had Cole not passed away I likely would have planned it. But all we had were the tickets at the time and I lost the ability to care about planning a trip after all of that. Heck I cried on the plane. Some young man boarded our first ride and smiled real big like Cole and I lost it. Chelsi was already asleep so she didn’t notice. The poor guy beside me was trying to avoid me while I tried to suck all my sadness and tears in. I did NOT expect this. 

We have been eating well. Bibimbap our first night. And it was so good. Last night we had a Kimbap type thing and tiny dumplings fried and then covered in a spicy sauce with fries, at the ballpark no less. All of the food and drinks we had at the game, including game tickets, were just over $30 combined. The cheerleaders and MC were as fun as always. The game was fun but then it was sort of a blow out so we left a little early. Back on the subway by 930 and that was the most crowded I’ve ever seen one. No space at all. 

We picked up some shopping items at Goto underground shopping mall.  It’s literally floors below the surface. Sometimes you don’t realize how deep a subway goes until you go up a couple floors or more and are still not street level. 

Onto a new day. Her foster mother had her appendix out this week so that visit has been canceled. We’re hoping she can reschedule before we go but don’t know yet. 

Monday, May 27, 2024

Graduation party #4

 

I didn’t get everyone but got most. She had a great time so that was all that mattered!

Sunday, May 26, 2024

Thankful and blessed


 A friend wanted to stop by before they left on their trip and we left on ours to get these to us. What I love about these special gifts is that Cole would have loved these but they’re so pretty I do too.  The little lantern is perfect for me to see on our deck from our living room. And the custom wooden box just took my breath away.  I had that tiny jewelry box I had given our son many years ago that my great great grandpa made. When we got it back we put some of his small things in there but I still had some things that I wanted to keep that were just in my cedar chest waiting for this.  It was perfect. I held back the tears somewhat. Not so much because I was so sad again but because of the thought for these gifts and the beauty of them in memory of our son. We have really been confirming the greatness of our long time friends.

#morememories #bestfrirnds #lovedones

Thursday, May 23, 2024

One more last time

 

Her and I had always planned to go back. The other two said they’re not feeling a need anymore. We always leave this up to them when and if we save enough to go back. 

Then in January the tickets dropped and we decided to grab them. We made all of our reservations and had it ready to go when Cole passed.  I was on the fence about leaving after that. Mostly just felt too sad at the time to think about anything enjoyable. But if we don’t just use our tickets now it will just get harder after she starts nursing school with clinical and working. 

I had always seen travel blogs and social media accounts where people get inexpensive upgrades. We’ve never flown anything but economy to Seoul. It’s not great but it works. I happened to checked early one morning and I snagged Delta One for $699. We’re getting our last flight to Korea in a suite for about the same price as we always paid for Korean Air economy!  The Delta One flights are usually $9/10,000 per ticket. Check out my blog for more info.  

This will likely be our final trip.  We have worked very hard to save money (and lots of credit card cashback bonus’s) to do this but it had to end at some point.  I, of course, have made it very clear they decide to return as adults and want me there I will always be willing, if possible   

Stay tuned for lots of pictures  

#flyinstyle #deltaone #seoultravel

Tuesday, May 21, 2024

Don’t blink

 

They grow up just that fast. Just like that my second to last is out of high school. 

I really didn’t expect to get emotional at graduation. I never have in the past. But I wasn’t expecting what she did. The older kids always bought and brought me a rose during the ceremony. She had three in her hand so I assumed she had bought one for me and one for her grandmas.  She gave me mine and then gave her little brother one and then gave me the last and told me it was for her oldest brother we lose two months ago.  That explained why she was crying before she got to me and then it was all over for me. Our son wouldn’t have been able to make her graduation with work so it wasn’t a particularly emotional event until then.

And little brother admitted to me that he would have been disappointed if she hadnt given him one. He’s going to miss her!

 I love my girls and they are definitely an inspiration. 

#mydaughters #graduation #imisshim

Sunday, May 19, 2024

TSA packing tips

 


Pretty self explanatory on packing more liquid toiletries into a one quart TSA size bag. AND packing medication!  

Tuesday, May 14, 2024

Another first….Mother’s Day

 

My son wasn’t usually home for Mother’s Day. He always had plans to be here over Memorial Day and knew I didn’t like him on the road too much. 

A lot of times the day was sprinkled with a graduation, my middle son’s birthday, visiting their grandmas or really not doing anything. This year was so different. I was missing an important phone call that I always got.  It was replaced with very thoughtful Mother’s Day wishes from friends and family who didn’t normally say anything.  But there was never a need to. Oddly, while it made me cry, it made me feel better.  My kids worked together to make the day special. I shared it with my middle son’s birthday once again which always has made me happy. He was my Mothers Day gift I brought home 24 years ago on actual Mother’s Day.  He had his girlfriend over to spend time with her but then she left to be with her mom and I had all 4 of my kids to myself.  We all spent time blowing up floaties and then lounging around the pool together for the first swim of the season.  It was quiet and nice.  I wore my son’s Metallica shirt to feel him with me that day.  I felt okay with the day.  

It doesn’t mean I don’t still have days like today where a song came on the radio and I cried on my way to work, walking into my office with tears still in my eyes. But suppressing this will do no good. Shoving it down as I sometimes do, to get by, can’t be done constantly.  I have kids to live for. I have kids to be strong for. But sometimes I know it’s okay for them to see how much losing one of them hurts and means to me.  I will always love every one of them unconditionally. I always have. Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there who still have their kids and big hugs to those who don’t.  

#mothersday #motherslove #momgrief