The Dallas Adventure, Part 1, Getting There

Well, I'm home and had a GREAT time meeting my on-line friends in Dallas! It was almost magical how wonderful it was. We all felt like we were meeting long-lost sisters, and though we are all very different, we all love the Lord and we all love our families, and we all homeschool. That's a lot of commonalities! I could just SEE the beauty of Christ in the ladies' faces. They were so beautiful!

I did have a bigger adventure getting there than anticipated. On Friday night I decided to completely balance the checkbook after paying bills earlier in the day, so that took about an hour, and then I had forgotton that I needed to finish 2 scrapbook pages for our beloved ex-moderator Dody, who was going to be surprised during the weekend with gifts from us. So I ended up not going to bed until 12:30 a.m. We got up at 3:30, warmed up the van, loaded the sleeping kids in, and headed to the airport. I was tired, but excited to meet all my friends in Dallas. My family dropped me off and headed home to fall back into bed.

Remember I was flying on standby status? That means I only get on the flight if there are available seats. I did not get on the 6:00 a.m. flight. No biggee I thought, there's another flight at 8:00. Well, I didn't make it on that one either. The next one to Dallas didn't leave until 2:30. So I had 6 hours to kill in the airport. I read quite a bit about John and Abigail Adams, which was very interesting and inspiring! The more I learn about our founding fathers, the more humbled and grateful I am. But that's another post. I got some lunch. I people watched. I talked with some others who were waiting for their flights. I talked to some of the ladies in Dallas, who were all anxiously awaiting my arrival. I saw lots of planes come and go! I spent alot of time praying, and that was special.

2:30 came. And went. Didn't get on that flight either. The last one of the day left in 3 more hours. 5:30. So I did more of the above and was VERY grateful when they called my name up and said there would be room for me on this last flight of the day to Dallas!!!! In fact, I got to sit in FIRST CLASS for the very first time in my life! That made the 13 hour wait almost worth it! I had a large, comfortable seat, and I got a delicious 3 course meal on a real china plate, with a real glass (as in, actually made of glass) and real flatware (as in, actually made of metal), with a linen napkin and a warm washcloth for my face and hands. It was truly delightful and I enjoyed that experience immensely.

I've decided that air travel brings out the best and worst in people. I talked with an older lady for a while who had started out at 5:00 that morning in another city and had difficulty all day with delayed flights, computers that were down, missing connections, etc. Granted, I can understand how frustrating that would be (I was a little frustrated with my situation too!), but she spoke so bitterly about it and just couldn't see any possible good in the day. I decided I didn't want to be like her.

When I was flying to Dallas in first class, enjoying my wonderful dinner, another gentleman in first class became very upset because they had run out of his dinner choice. He was quite upset about it. And again, I can understand his feelings. If you're paying extra for first class I guess you expect more for your money. But he was really rude to the flight attendant, and she was trying so hard to please him. I decided I didn't want to be like him either, and I made it my mission the rest of the flight to be nice to the flight attendant and let her know how much I appreciated her service to me.

After dinner I was able to sleep on the plane for about an hour, and that was much needed and very refreshing. So FINALLY we landed at about 7:30 and I was IN DALLAS!!!!! 12 hours later than I'd planned, but I was there!