We're off; the time is now. Daniel is heading to Portugal. Our first stop is Seattle. As always, traveling with Daniel presents the stress and challenges I've come to accept as just something that I know is imminent.

He did ask me what time I wanted to leave for Seattle. I told him about 11 am, deciding not to play tennis in the morning so we could leave on time. That's when he told me he had been asked to consult in the morning. With that news, I went to play tennis. I need to start using my mother's system; say you want to leave an hour before you need to; that way, you may leave closer...