It was really hard leaving today-Maria with her Strep Throat, Sherod with his pain and all the work at work pulled at me. Then coming into Newark we flew into really big turbulence–the kind that makes you feel like your stomach will come out through your nose because the plane just hit a ginormous air pocket. These are the effects of a nor’easter that’s still blowing out there. When I checked in at SAS, I got a nasty little surprise. I had upgraded to something called SAS Plus mainly because it allowed me to use the lounge for this long layover. Since NO ONE had anything better to recommend for my 5 hours here, I had decided at least to make the time productive.

Turns out the Lufthansa lounge is being remodeled and for now, only SAS Business Class folks get to use the lounge. I am getting more assertive in my old age so I pulled out my iPad, showed the lady how explicitly SAS touts the use of the lounges as one of the perks of my upgrade and asked to see her manager when she kept insisting I couldn’t go in. Long and short of it? I was allowed in.
That has made it possible for me to peck out the essentials of the bulletin I will need for the funeral I have to do the day after I get back from Sweden. I also got to write some overdue thank you notes.

Now, I am sitting in a comfortable chair, drinking a decent cappuccino and eavesdropping shamelessly, thoroughly enjoying all the Swedish being spoken all around me. All these tall, blond, blue eyed Swedes! Except that the family I am sitting next to is Norwegian. Two of the daughters, young women in their early twenties, are obviously of African (I would guess Ethiopian) origin and their Norwegian is pretty accented. They I can’t understand so well. The dad and mom–quite a lot.

So I have taken a deep breath. I am making another of one of my world shifts and all of a sudden, it feels really good. Heja Sverige!

and here I go!