My dad arrived for our pre-trip meeting (scheduled at his request) loaded with questions. We began with updates–hearing about what he’s packing, the apps he’s downloaded, the nuances of Lufthansa’s overhead rules (1″ smaller than Delta it turns out), and his precautions against thieves. In addition to the updates, he provided us with some extra ear-plugs, soap and compression socks should we find ourselves in need. Once caught up, he produced a notebook that had been pre-populated with additional notes and questions ranging from airport arrival time to seating arrangements to insurance limitations.

After a series of Q&A to (hopefully) satisfy all of my dad’s uncertainties, and a day-by-day review of our plans, my father-in-law spoke up with his single question. “What day are we leaving?” he asked. Then he wrote the answer down on a scrap of paper he pulled from his pocket.

(insert theme from The Odd Couple)