Take time to deliberate, but when the time for action has arrived, stop thinking and go in.
- Napoleon

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Life Intrudes

No insightful writerly post today. Today I took my only child to the airport for her first plane trip. She is now safely ensconced in the arms of my family in Michigan. From the phone I received not too long ago, she's already having the time of her life. =oD

Me? I'm draggin' butt. We left at 5:30am after a rather sleepless night on my part (and on hers, too, I'm sure). The closest airport is two and half hours away, and with the unaccompanied minor (U.M.) rules and the heightened security rules, we had to make sure we were there extra early for her 10:30 flight to Detroit. No problem. I've flown dozens of times, so I had it all down to a science. Neither of us had anything even remotely scary in our purses, or in her carry-on. Neither of us had any metal - with the exception of my wedding ring and her glasses. We got through the checkpoint with plenty of time to spare.

We found the gate and touched base with the personnel there. Who, BTW, were a couple of awesome people who knew how to do their jobs not only efficiently, but also kindly. Since my daughter was a U.M., she boarded first and got the grand treatment. I waited by the gate for the plane to take off - which is not only a rule for people dropping off kids to fly alone, but also there's no way I was leaving the airport until I was absolutely certain she was off. Good thing I waited.

After all the passengers were on board, and they were getting ready to fire the puppy up to jet off into the wild blue yonder, the gal at the gate desk got a phone call. All of the passengers were going to have to get off the plane, and move to a different plane. (I never did find out exactly what the problem was.) So, off she comes and away we go to the next gate. The personnel there were in sharp contrast to the ones - snotty, couldn't-care-less types. *shrug*

After about an hour delay, she finally pulled away and up into the air. (I waited to make sure. )And I piled back into my car for the return drive home. She was in Michigan, and in the company of my brother, by the time I got home.

Needless to say, I'm whooped. And I have to do it all again in two weeks. Well, not the delay part, I hope. I can only stand so much road-time after all these years. Back in the day - when I was still living in Michigan - I was a road warrior, and 500 miles a week was no big deal. Not any more.

Ack. I feel old.

So, what were you up to today?

5 comments:

Shannon said...

Awe, she'll be home before you know it! This is just practice for sending her off to college..lol
I just read a quote that said we raise our kids to leave us. Sad, but you know it kind of applies to our novels, too. :-)
Hope you get some quality alone time!

Jill Monroe said...

Wow, I can see how that would be hard. So glad you waited. I sent my oldest off to camp for the first time this year. She's been to camp 6 times, and I went with her every time. The first time I stayed up thinking of all the ways she'd die because I wasn't there.

Bill Clark said...

So, what were you up to today?

Well, it's actually tomorrow (Thursday), and what I'm doing, as I have just learned on the Mavens' blog thread, is spreading my blog seed. It sounds vaguely Onanistic, but I guess I'll give it a whirl anyhow.

So here I am, B. E., leaving a comment on your blog in accordance with Maven Lacey's Top Ten Tips for Pimping Your Blog.

While I'm here, I guess I'll leave a question as well: where on the Upper Peninsula? (My father's family came from Escanaba.)

*Bill heads off with his bucket of blog seed in search of other blogs to cross-contaminate...er, cross-fertilize* :-)

B.E. Sanderson said...

LOL Well, your blog pimping worked.

Escanaba is beautiful, but I spent four years on the north side of the UP. Specifically Marquette, and Northern Michigan University - on the sunny shores of Lake Superior. It's beautiful up there. Even the winters are pretty - as long as you enjoy them from inside.

Travis Erwin said...

My kids went on their first flight this year but they were accompanied by my wife. I can see where putting your child on a plane coudl be very worrisome.