Decisions

I put in my time-off request for the week that J will be remodeling our only bathroom. We agreed several months ago that my presence in the house was a bad idea since all the fixtures, including the ugly 1940's cast iron tub, are coming out.

Part of the reason is that we do not work well together on house stuff. He yells, I cry, a fight ensues. The other reason is that my two months of sickness was caused by the flu and the amount of dust and mold kicked up when he started removing tile from the walls and floor earlier this year.

And he is a guy. His bathroom needs can be satisfied by the shower hookup in the basement and a bucket. I demand the luxury of a working toilet.

I am going to Paris for eight days.

Purchasing a plane ticket was a shock. My ticket cost $1,251.11, which is roughly 2.5 times more than they were the last time I was on a plane. And it was one of the least expensive flights I could find, anywhere. I'm still shocked that I managed to reason myself into paying that much money for a plane ticket. And I'm utterly convinced that a week from now, they will be cheaper, because Commander Cuckoo Bananas will have managed to sneak Halliburton into the Artic Refuge.

But I'm going back to a city I love by myself for eight days. I found a nice hotel via Charming Hotels in Paris*. I have a backup plan in case the place is already booked. I've been there before, so I know how to navigate the Metro and the city streets.

My in-laws are not happy about this. The bathroom remodeling is scheduled for the same week that most of J's family will be in Hilton Head. They invited me to come with them while J works on the house. I politely turned down their invitation, since past history has demonstrated that a root canal is more pleasant than traveling with his family.

There is a general feeling from both families that I am pushing the envelope of good taste and proper behavior for a married woman. I did not take J's last name, exclusive responsibility for the household chores or start having children right away, so I'm considered a little off the beat. Traveling to a foreign country while J works at home is not going over well. It is not proper for a married woman to travel without her spouse. If she must, then it should either be with family or to visit family.

Chaperoned, in other words.

*Hotel Quai Voltaire was one of the available hotels, but it was out of my price range. As was a lovely student dive near the Sorbonne and a third place in the Latin Quarter. So I'm staying near the Embassies, which should make my second attempt to visit the Baccarat Musuem a little easier.