You know how they talk about Murphy’s Law, where anything that CAN go wrong WILL go wrong?

Last weekend was a bit of a train wreck. Brady rolled his ankle while playing outside with friends for the first time in a year and has been hobbling around ever since. Then, we thought Phoebe ate a sock and spent Memorial Day at the emergency vet to make sure she didn’t have a blockage. Fun times.

I’d hoped that this weekend would be different, but it was not to be.

Because when I went to bed Thursday, the left side of my face started hurting and out of nowhere I got completely stuffed up. Trying to sleep was almost impossible. Friday was more of the same, and Saturday, too. Instead of enjoying our last weekend here and living it up in Omaha’s Old Market, I was holed up in my Airbnb surrounded by a growing pile of tissues and binge-watching 90 Day Fiancé.

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Here it is, the day before we fly out and this morning, my mind was in overdrive. I was pretty sure this congestion was just a run-of-the-mill cold, but what if it weren’t?

What if I were one of those rare people who get a case of breakthrough COVID after being fully vaccinated? What if I couldn’t get on the plane, and then all of our plans were shot? It was hard enough to make all the logistics work in the first place, but to have to reschedule everything?

Just the thought of it all had my head swirling. Part of me wanted to avoid the whole situation and pretend that nothing was wrong, but that’s not responsible or practical. You can’t show up snarfy to the airport in this day and age. I mean, even I would give myself stink eye with all the sneezing and coughing!

And that’s why I found myself taking an Uber to the closest urgent care on a Sunday to get a Covid test and a diagnosis. I needed to find out what was going on. As I waited for the results, my heart was racing and my blood pressure was elevated. Tick, tock…tick, tock.

It was a sweet relief to hear that the Covid test was negative, and as I tucked the proof into my purse for safe-keeping it hit me that I’ve never been so excited to have a wicked case of allergies, or perhaps a sinus infection, especially when I’m about to get on a transatlantic flight.

Then, as if to provide a bit of perspective, my Uber driver on the way back was this delightful woman named Mary, a refugee from South Sudan. She spent years fleeing danger during the Second Sudanese Civil War. Her older brothers were two of 20,000 “Lost Boys of Sudan” and when they were granted official resettlement in the U.S., Mary got her chance to start over. Her story left me feeling inspired by the resilience of the human spirit.

So how’s that for being a magnet for mayhem who finds joy everywhere?

P.S. Yes Mom, I am going to get some of those EarPlanes!