Welcome Back

Flight #1: Salt Lake City to Chicago. Delayed for 55 minutes. Layover in Chicago supposed to be an hour. Ticket counter assures us that they will hold the flight for us and that we're going to land in the gate next to our connecting flight.
Flight #2: Chicago to Indianapolis: Land five minutes after connecting flight is supposed to depart, sit on runway for half an hour. Finally get to the gate around 6:40. Flight to Indy still there, we hand over tickets. Ticket guy asks if we'd be willing to stay in Chicago for the night for $200 and the price of the one-way ticket. In a moment of uncharacteristic recklessness, I agree to stay with Jill. They say they've removed our bags. We wait at the ticket counter for an hour for our hotel voucher and money voucher, and by the time we get to the baggage area, there is no sign of our luggage. Baggage claim people tell us we are crazy and that no one would ever, EVER pull luggage with an Indianapolis tag, so it's surely in Indianapolis, but if we're going to be really crazy about it we can stop by before we leave in the morning. Bright side: don't have to check luggage in the morning. Go to our hotel, eat at the TGI Friday's across the parking lot (too cold to try to explore for pizza, and Midway doesn't seem to be in a great pizza area of town) (Jill pays because she feels bad that I'm having anxiety about the whole thing and she's awesome.)  Watch Dollhouse. Sleep.
Flight #3: Chicago to Denver: Become break room gossip when the customer service rep can't believe they're sending us to Indianapolis via Denver. (Indy is about a 45 minute flight from Chicago, and a three-ish hour drive.) Boarding is uneventful, minus the fact that we're going almost back to where we came from to get to a place a 45 minute flight away. Supposed to have a 10 minute window, end up with a 30 minute one. Sweet.
Flight #4: Denver to Indianapolis: Also uneventful minus a peanut allergy on the flight that meant we didn't get peanuts.
Arrive in Indianapolis: Approx. 19 hours later than expected. Pages of Anna Karenina read: 130. One of Jill's bags made it. The rest: Chicago, apparently. I commence being really grumpy about the whole thing and blaming Jill. (Sorry, Jill. You get grumpy when you're hungry - I get grumpy when I'm anxious. I don't really blame you.)
Commence cheering up with Sarah's protein pancakes (similar to crepes) and a hilarious book called Overdue. Have to stop watching the CES fireside when they make too many references to airplanes.
11 pm: Airport calls and has bags. Do we want them delivered tonight? As opposed to 3 pm tomorrow? Yes. What I don't tell the delivery man: "If you don't bring them tonight, I will have no makeup or clean underwear with which to start classes."

So - should be getting them sometime in the middle of the night. All's well that ends well. Stella even starts after a month in the cold, and some of the snow melted off before I got back. Supposed to snow tomorrow, but should be warmer later this week (and rumors of an FHE snowball fight/fort-making night are flying). Missing the fambly - glad the bags will be here to make the transition to Bloomington life easier.