Subtitle: A case study of “The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.”
 
The plan:
Buy WorldCon membership eight months prior to event to get the early bird discount - Check
Get plane tickets and hotel reservations for self and hubby months in advance - Check
Apply for and achieve being a presenter at WorldCon (a first) - Check
Get epic fantasy novel The Halfblood War published in time for WorldCon - Check
Get ARCs of a forthcoming book While Gods Sleep printed in time for WorldCon - Check
Apply for and achieve a spot at the SFWA book table to promote said books - Check
Schedule many get togethers with friends at WorldCon - Check
Plan vacation up the Northern Calif coast with hubby to follow WorldCon - Check
Car rental, AirBnB cabin in the woods, places to see on vacation - Check
Schedule meet ups with friends I’ve not seen since I moved away from N Calif. 15 yrs ago - Check
 
What actually happened:
The afternoon before leaving for WorldCon hubby is exposed to chlorine gas.
I spend 6 hours in 2 different ERs and hubby spends 2 days in hospital.
We keep thinking we’ll salvage bits of the trip until we get realistic and admit defeat
Nine hour wait with him for his discharge from hospital.
Spend the remaining days of vacation retrieving his car, dealing with work comp, following up with doctors, and helping my 100-year-old live-in mom to have her beloved elderly dog euthanized.
 
In summary:
Things could have been much worse. The gas was diluted and exposure was limited. The big picture turned out as well as it could have. I still have my husband and my husband is back at work on full duty.
Snapshot of the past week: the week sucked.