I love New York

My father's family is the epitome of a blended family. The "blending" began around 1939, before the description "blended" became common. The "cliff notes" version of the blend: My father's parents had two children, my father and aunt. They were young when their mother died, and their father remarried; there was one son from that marriage. Later, their father died, and their stepmother remarried a widower with three sons.

All of this occurred long before my parents married. As youngsters, we all knew that we had a slew of aunts, uncles, and cousins. Not all of us knew that we weren't all "blood" relations, and those who did couldn't remember who was or wasn't. As the song goes, "We are family."

Last week, I made a quick trip to New York for an uncle's funeral. He seemed to be recovering from a recent surgery well, but unfortunately, complications arose, and he didn't make it.

My travel plans started in Walla Walla; after a brutal five-hour layover in Seattle, I changed to JetBlue for a redeye flight. Alaska Airlines assured me that I could check my luggage through to JFK. What a relief, or so I thought!

A five-hour layover was not sufficient time to get my luggage from the Alaska Airlines terminal to JetBlue's, so I landed in New York with nothing except for what I had on my back.

I arrived at the hotel around 7:00 a.m. and met my brother for a quick coffee and bagel before heading to the only store open, Target, to buy clothes, toiletries, shoes – the works. I was confident that my luggage would arrive by late afternoon since there were several flights it could have been on. But, no – JetBlue waited until the following night's redeye.

After the service and eulogies, we went to the graveside for the burial. Since most of us were without cars, my cousins arranged for a comfortable bus, and it was comforting to all be together. The ride began quietly, but typical of our family, my cousins stocked the bus with snacks, which relaxed us once they were opened. We shared phones to check out pictures of gardens, children, grandchildren, and my new Target wardrobe.

Saturday morning, I was still without anything other than the scant essentials from Target.

Undaunted, I spent a few hours strolling through the city. New York still has amazing excitement and energy, and autumn is spectacular. The trees in Central Park were resplendent in their fall colors, and the store windows were decorated to the hilt for the holidays.

The first stop was to be a walk along the New York Highline. Just my luck; it was closed for reseeding. Next, I headed uptown and strolled through the Guggenheim Museum, glancing at my phone every five minutes, waiting for confirmation of my luggage's arrival, but nothing.

This time, I raced to Macy's for more speed shopping. I bought a few necessities and cool shoes for the evening's additional funeral services and dinner at my cousin's home.

My luggage finally landed at the hotel Saturday night, and it was time to pack my new clothes and leave for the airport at 4:00 a.m. I arrived home safely that afternoon, and as expected, without my luggage. At least this time, I could shop in my closet.