angel in a red blazer

i mentioned in my last post that i was pretty stressed that getting to the airport 'on time' was out of my control. i was pretty drained emotionally by that time in the trip and afraid that i'd be reduced to a puddle of tears if anything kept me from returning to my family on time.

i was raised by a mother who would complain to me 'do you know how long i've been out here waiting for you? 30 minutes!!!' well, that meant because i was 15 minutes late, and she was 15 minutes early... time is stressful for me because of that constant shame and stress.

so when the airport says 'check in 2 hours before your flight' i believe them, and am there 2 hours and 15 minutes early! :) not possible on monday. the earliest bus to seatac was 6:00 a.m. - arriving at 11:00 a.m. - for a 12:20 flight...

plus a customs/immigration stop in the middle, for which i had mistakenly left home without my birth certificate. i worried i was going to get that border guard with 1 day left before retirement who just wanted to make everyones life a little more difficult. all my worrying was in vain as he kindly asked 'where were you born' - i responded 'wisconsin' and he didn't need to see any paperwork other than my declaration form. whew... one down... one to go.

the northwest lines were really bad. and i had prayed before we arrived at the airport that what was supposed to happen was going to happen. i also told god that any money that i'd have to pay for a missed flight would be plucked out of the kingdom, just in case he needed that reminder... (ugh, yes, i really did that...)

well, i am snaking through the line watching a little (and i mean little) neo-nazi, military man have an absolute fit that he can't leave the locks on his duffle bag. it was the first reminder of the 'real world' i had after leaving the retreat. as i was standing and watching his really negative energy spin in line his polar opposite in a red blazer walks to the line up and stands directly in front of me.

she asks the crowd 'is anyone on flight 170 to minneapolis?' i look around at the group, and am the only one raising my hand. she says 'well honey, come right with me, we'll get you all checked in... is this your only bag... here, let me get your boarding pass for you...' honest. i've never seen anything like it. i jumped infront of at least 20 people, none of which i bothered to even acknowledge in my state of shock.

i arrived at my gate as they were boarding (and i even beat mr. bad energy through security! i was sure he was going to snap and shut the airport down). it was a complete reminder to me that my energy wasted in fretting could have been used in much more positive ways. anyway - it was too cool not to remember, so i've done that here.