4 p.m. — The ombudsman has been busy today. I get another email from her, this time to let family members know that in two weeks there will be two days of R&R (rest and relaxation? I'm horrible with all these acronyms) in a European city, in case we were interested in going. I look up tickets and decide to make it a five day trip to have some extra time to explore. I'm able to use some credit card points, but even so the price makes my eyes water. I remind myself that these trips are part of the reason why we keep so much in savings. Plus, after four months of not seeing each other and very minimal communication, two days of getting to know a new city with T. will be priceless. $1,329