THE WEEK EVERYTHING CHANGED (our plans and my hair)

We've had a major change of plans. Right now, Nate and I are supposed to be on a train in the middle of Canada, but instead, we are in Seattle, and I'm at the airport all by myself.

It's like you turned it into a point.

That's all the kids wear. No flow flex. Here we go.

I think I'd know how to do this by now. Open the swab right through. Take approximately 15 seconds to clean. Start to the tip of the swab.

Okay, and go. Oh, you gotta go further up there. You gotta get into, like, the nasal.

I am.

Oh, I got a big booger.

I'm crying.

And you know you've done it. I'm not a medical professional.

You have a big booger hanging out.

One, two. Are you timing it?

Mm.

That was the booger.

For some reason, I'm really grossed out by this.

We set a timer for 15 minutes.

Do I look sick?

You just look a little tired.

I don't really feel sick. Tomorrow morning, we were supposed to be flying to Canada, where we were gonna get on a train that was gonna take us all the way from Vancouver to Toronto in preparation to cross the border. A PCR test is. So two days ago. Feeling totally fine. I took a PCR test, didn't think a thing about it. We've taken a ton of these to travel. Later that afternoon, went and ran eight miles. Also felt totally fine. And then last night, right before we were about to fall asleep, we got a text that the results of our PCR test were in. So I looked at it, like, not thinking anything of it. I checked the results, and apparently I have Covid.

We're still in a little bit of shock. Like, I'll never forget your face. I was like, ah, negative. You know, for the millionth time, I look over, and Nate's just like, we're.

We're probably not going to Canada, and it's time to come up with plan B. The crazy thing is, I would have had Covid and never known that I had it had we not have had to travel to Canada. I'm curious to take one. Like, is there any chance I got a false positive? Yeah, like, should I take one?

Take one. They're only $10 at Target. Wait, wait, wait. Said at least five times. Times. Yeah, yeah. Didn't get any boogers. Like, I did.

1, 2, very 3, 4. I'm seeing the tea. I think it's positive.

Oh, yeah. It has been double confirmed that I have Covid and feel totally fine. It has been double confirmed that Cara does Not have Covid and feels totally fine.

Thank you so much. It was a very dramatic goodbye this morning, as usual. But I'm fine now. Everything's fine.

Don't ever fly alone. This feels so weird. Nate always does this stuff.

Well. Oh, I was bouncier. I thought it was gonna be.

So.

Obviously I'm bummed that we had to cancel our train across Canada. But honestly, what makes me the most sad is not being able to go see a back.

I thought I was done crying. We tried to make something else work, but it's just not gonna happen this time. Even though this week has not gone at all like we planned, I am gonna make the most of it. Plan B, I think, is the next best thing. Tomorrow is actually my birthday. Today I am flying to Dallas to be with my sister and my new nephew.

It feels so weird sending care off alone to go celebrate her birthday. But she's been testing every 48 hours since I tested positive. And she's tested neg every single time, still negative. So we didn't see any reason why she needed to continue sitting in this hotel room with me for her birthday.

You may remember last year on my birthday, Nate surprised me with a weekend in our own private castle. The best part was he surprised me with my sister, who is my best friend on the planet besides Nate.

Even though it hurts to say a little bit out loud, she would probably rather spend her birthday with her sister and the baby and than she would with me. Not that I don't think she loves me. She just gets to spend every day with me. And for her to get to spend time with her sister and the baby is super special.

So even though I'm devastated that I don't get to go squeeze Beck in my arms, that's kind of weird. I am really excited for the opportunity to go see my sister. Best birthday present I could ask for. I think.

I need a mimosa.

Kara's probably walking into the Centurion lounge. Sitting there with a glass of champagne. I'm a little jealous. We'll see if I go crazy being stupid stuck in this little hotel room all by myself.

Used to do that all the time as a kid. And I can tell I'm getting old because now it makes me nauseous.

Plate number one.

Delicious. Plate number two.

Even better. And plate number three.

Just as good as I remember.

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In the description below.

Alright. In typical Kara and Nate fashion, I stayed in the lounge to the very last minute and I have to book it to the other side of the airport in less than 10 minutes. Woo. Boarding has been delayed 3 minutes. I don't think I've ever seen that before. I'll take it. Made it with two minutes to spare. Pretty proud of that. Line number 1992 service out of four. We will start boarding within five minutes. You're keeping your boarding name clear until your group has employed your boarding pass.

Boarding is complete by the time secure the camp for departure. Please sit back, relax and enjoy your flight.

We are in the air and I'm in the back in the middle seat, There's a person next to me and let's just say he's not very social. I said hello and I'm pretty sure he grunted at me. I cannot wait to see my sweet baby Hank. You may remember last November I had a pretty dramatic road trip to go meet him for the first time. I spent the first like two weeks of his life with him and then I got to spend Christmas in Dallas with my family. So it's been several weeks since I've gotten to see him and he's gotten so big and even cuter, if that's even possible.

This is gonna be so great. All Right back to my seat.

I am back in Dallas.

Found it.

I even still have the tag on it.

Dallas is freezing. When I was here last, it was like 80 degrees on Christmas. Now it's 37 and rain.

On a positive note, Ubers pick up right outside of baggage claim.

Sorry. It's huge.

I didn't know Dallas got this cold.

This is Advent.

Thank you so much. Have a good day. I am at Cassie's apartment, but I actually don't think she's home yet.

How's it going?

Did I meet Cassie?

You did.

Oh, my gosh.

She's.

That's the cutest thing ever. Oh, she got my favorite brownies. I just told her that bagels were my weakness. She is the best. I'm gonna cry.

Happy birthday, Kira.

Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear Kira Happy birthday to you.

The birthday girl.

Good morning from my 31st year. That's kind of a weird thing to say. Take a good look at these long locks while you still can.

I have pretty much never had short hair, so I'm a little nervous. But I've decided on my last day in Dallas, I'm gonna go get my haircut. I'm going to donate it to an organization that provides free wigs for people in need. Since I didn't get to see Beck on this trip, I thought I would donate my hair in her honor. Something I've always thought was so cool. And I've always wanted to try it, but I've always been too nervous too. So here we go.

Fancy.

Somebody will be very happy.

Hello. Really?

Here's the love.

It looks so good. I'm nervous.

Hey. I love it.

It's so short.

I don't know what I expected, but it looks way different.

Guess how many inches?

Yeah. 12. Should we do another one for the Internet?

No.

So cute. I love it. You look beautiful. No matter what you do to your hair.

You're so annoying. I think I like. Yeah, that went better than expected.

Today is the big day.

When we originally checked into this hotel room, I thought I was going to be here for two nights. I have now been here for almost two weeks. I've completed my 10 day isolation.

My most recent rapid test came back negative.

And I am very excited to head to the airport. But I'm feeling a little bit like Kara this morning. First, I had to get this bag to shut. Oh my goodness. In my defense, this company called Cuts Clothing, they sent me a bunch of new clothes, like four T shirts, a sweatshirt, and two pairs of pants. So I'm leaving Here with a lot more clothes than I started with.

No way.

All right, let's go to the airport.

Bye.

Home.

So K and I each have different.

Roles in this relationship. We didn't, like, plan these roles out. It's just kind of things that we've fallen into and that we kind of each take responsibility for during a travel day. I thought I did everything when we traveled, but it turns out out that Kara is always the one that calls the Uber. I don't think I've called an Uber in over a year.

$54.

Really?

Bye, my sweet love.

Next time you see me, you gonna be crawling. You might even be driving.

I know.

We don't want her to go.

It's okay.

This morning has been a bit emotional for me. I just said a sad goodbye.

Goodbye, my lover, goodbye, my friend.

My shoes that I have worn almost every day for the last 14 months finally wore out.

We just.

We've been through so many adventures together.

We ran a half marathon with a donkey together. We pedaled across Iowa.

We climbed the vertical elevation of Mount Everest without sleeping. We climbed the tallest mountain in North Africa. We ran a marathon with no training. That doesn't even count. Just all of the, like, regular days.

That we had together. Totally kidding, Austin. Thank you so much. You're welcome.

We should be reunited in about three hours. Cara has a direct flight from Dallas, and I have a direct direct flight from Seattle. And we should both land at the exact same time if our planes are on time.

Well, here I am again, wiping my tears away at the airport. I did a lot better this time. This weekend went by way too fast. But I'm thankful that there are people in my life that I love so much that I can't say bye without hysterically crying. First time I've curled my new hair. I think I love it. So it's 11:45. My flight leaves from Terminal A, which is where I am right now, and the Centurion Lounge is in Terminal D. I'm going.

Today feels like such a weird day for so many reasons. First, I'm back out in the world around other people. Second, and probably most obviously, I'm traveling without Kara.

Third is I was feeling really weird without my passport. And as I got to thinking about it, I realized I think there is a chance.

I have only been on one purely domestic flight in the last six years, because the first four years we traveled internationally, and then we got the van when we came back to the US So I just never fly without my passport. And last but not least, this One's the most sad. Karen. I always take this one picture the first time we fly every year. And this year, the first time I'm flying is without Cara. I should have just taken the picture by myself.

Step one is finding the Skylink train. I pretty much have one hour from this moment until I need to be boarding. What I'm really trying to say is I have an hour in the lounge before I. I sprint back to Terminal A and try not to miss my flight. This is the trick.

Exit here for age D23 through D40.

Wow.

Man, life is good.

Hi.

Cheers. Wow.

I should probably get. I'm 10 minutes away from my gate and I board in 4 minutes. Have a good boy.

Thanks.

We really wanted to cheers each other from Centurion lounges across the country.

Okay, I gotta go. Oh, I knew I was gonna cut it close, but I did not plan on cutting it this close. I'm boarding right now. And I'm leaving the lounge right now.

Darn it.

I missed the train for, like, two seconds.

The Centurion Lounge was great, but I believe, like Kara, I'm now requiring a brisk walk to get to my gate. Even though we're in totally separate airports, I think we're still doing the same thing. Make a wish, please. Hold on.

This train is departed. I'm gonna have to book it.

I did not realize that I had to ride a train in order to get to my gate. I did not account for.

Oh, my gosh.

I made it.

I'm gonna make it. I'm not gonna lie. I was close there for a minute.

To la we go.

Beat that. More than ever, we appreciate you choosing Americans. Sit back, relax, and enjoy our flight into Los Angeles.

All right, three hours and 15 minutes until we land at LAX. And three and a half hours until I get.

Pretty nice day down in Los Angeles. 73 degrees. Thank you for choosing American Airlines.

Thank you so much. You are very welcome. All right, three hours later, I've made it to la, and I have to say, that's the first time I've ever flown Alaskan Airlines. And they have to be one of my favorite domestic airlines. I earned my One World status, which Alaska is part of One World, by crediting all of my miles to American Airlines. So technically, I'm One World Sapphire. And I just got treated better on Alaskan Airlines than I've ever been treated on American. They upgraded me to a premium seat. I got free champagne. It was a great flight. I highly doubt Kara's flight went the same way.

Going to reunite with Nate. Nate, where are you? Yeah. There he is. Hey, hottie. Hey.

Wow. It looks even better in real life.

This is really feeling like old times.

Hopped in the cab for the third time.

Thank you so much. You're welcome.

Here.

Bummer.

I knew it was going to be flat, but I thought we were going to be able to blow it back up.