Lessons Learned Today

1. Never ever. ever. ever ever ever ever trust an airline when they tell you your checked bag will arrive with you at your new destination after they've cancelled your flight and rebooked you on a different airline. NEVER.

2. Stop sharing so many kisses, apples, spoonfuls, and straws with your son. He is ALWAYS carrying germs. Always.

3. Sickness will hit you when you travel. Period.

4. Don't travel for business to Dallas during the state fair. So. Many. People. .......

5. No matter how much extra space they take, how much extra effort it is, always ALWAYS keep your laptop charging cord, your iPhone charging cord, and your training materials with you when traveling. Refer to lesson #1 for reference.

6. Learn to be more assertive and less push-overy with airline representatives.

7. Always carry a snack. I thought I'd learned this when pregnant, but apparently I forgot it.

8. Laptop bags without straps are sinful.

9. Somehow I will always choose to recommit to lunges and squats the day before traveling. Making the traveling day a very very sore one for me.

10. My Dad always comes through. Always.

11. Downtown hotels may be cooler, but they are further away from amenities. Like, department stores and Apple stores and copier stores .... see lesson 1 and 5 for reference.

12. Travel in business clothes. Not jeans, sneakers, an old shirt and light weight sweater. Now I understand why business people travel in their clothes--so when the airlines lose their bag, they can still go to work in the morning.

Real business people don't check their bags. Oh--right. I forgot.

Real business people also don't travel with their 18 month old.

Real business people don't have the pleasure of routing themselves through Denver to hug their parents and drop off the 18 month old on their way to work in Dallas.

Real business people don't have the heartwarming experience of watching their son jump and run/waddle toward his Grandpa and Grandma with a huge grin on his face while routing themselves through Denver on their way to work in Dallas.

So .... I guess the problem started today when I took off my business person hat and put on my mommy hat and packed according to being a mommy not a business person .... and then United cancelled my flight to Dallas Love Field, and rebooked me on American to Dallas/Fort Worth and didn't send my one lonely checked bag ....

All because I didn't want to carry an extra bag along with the 18 month old, the diaper bag, the stroller and the Elmo backpack full of books and snacks.

Am I worried about my 9am training session tomorrow, for which I need handouts, business attire, make up, hair products, and heels? Nah--there's a Target 1.7 miles away. I'll manage.

So, biggest lesson of all? Hmm .... sometimes, you just have a perfect storm of poor decisions, cancelled flights, and snotty noses.Oh--and never ever ever ever EVER trust an airline with the materials and clothing that you need at 9am the next day. EVER.