Saturday, June 30

Lesson in Life!

Well-- it is Saturday night and all the "Angels" are in Kansas City being recognized for their amazing accomplishments this past catalogue year with The Angel Company. I am sure that they are having a blast at the banquet!

I traveled to KC on Wednesday to pick Awna up from the airport and spend the afternoon Power Shopping all of the scrapbook and stamp stores in KC. Wednesday morning was a great morning to travel. A little rain in places but the roads were good. Now, I know very well how to get TO the airport and the expo center...but here is the deal...I knew the exit to take to get to the airport but after that it was all new to me!! This was my first trip to an airport all by myself. I did the map quest thing and I even looked at the map from the airport and figured that I was a BIG girl and I would wear my big girl panties and everything would be JUST FINE!As I turned off I-29 on the airport road exit...yep you guessed it, I started to get a little rattled. There was not just one road to simply get to the airport---entering a terminal at MCI is like entering a major metropolitan city!! Awna told me terminal 3...my choices were A, B, C...so C it was! I am sure that the poor fella behind me in that blue truck could see the word "panic" in my tail lights! So I get into the terminal and go right past the parking area. Worried that I would end up back on the road I just came off of or worse...having to go out and start all over...I stopped to ask one of the nice security folks if I was in the right place for the flight and were I needed to go to park. The kind gentleman pointed two doors down and told me that was the door I was to go in and if I go just a little further round the circle... I could indeed get into the parking area. Thanked the kind man and went to my running vehicle...pulled on the door handle---PANIC was no longer just in my tail lights...it was all over my face. I had hit the door lock button when I jumped out. Fortunatley, I had done this one oher time as well and once I stopped to THINK realized I should try the back door and rear hatch/door. The back door came right open and I jumped in...pulled the keys out of the ignition and with a big sigh of relief plopped down on the back seat...right on top of my roomates gifts! So the first lesson in this is...if you lock yourself out once be smart enough to realize that this could be an issue in the future and always take your keys with you when you get out!
So as I happily sit in the airport with my vehicle parked and my keys in my hand...I watched all of these teen age youth walk by...loads of them. No adults just them... Having a great time... no panic, no worries...While I was in the restroom I asked one of the gals what conference they had come from--It was a national student council conference hosted in different cities each year. They have youth come from as far away as Australia and this year it was hosted in Overland Park Kansas.
Me- by this time I am doing the compulsive worry thing... Am I really at the right terminal? I don't see the flight number listed on the screen that I was given...so I ask not one, not two, not three but four different people...the second lesson...just go to ticketing and ask your question...the flight number had been changed--the plane had landed and the passengers were coming off...fortunately it was just 100 feet from were I was! Snagged up Awna and her bags and off we went to conquer KC!
On our way out of the airport I was thinking about the third lesson... "teach todays life skills lessons that I experienced to my daughter early!!" I had previously thought about how I really want my daughter to experience traveling via airplane...and yes I still want her to do this...but now I see how much more important it is to get her comfortable getting to the airport and knowing how to navigate her way at an airport...I want her to be one of those teens...no fear- flying across the US in a strange airport and completely confident that she will get to were she needs to be with out her mama. So although we will not be flying when we go on vacation this year...maybe we should stop by a few airports for some major life lessons!
Above card made with Cudle bug and Spunky Stamps.

2 comments:

Gwen Z. said...

Eva,

I really missed you this year! Hope to see you soon, you are an inspiration to me!

Miss ya!
Blessings,
Gwen

Sandy said...

Lol on your lessons....thanks for sharing! And I love that cuttlebug bg, someone sent me some birthday and TY impressions (is that what you call them?) and I love using them on my cards. Have a great day!