Practice What You Preach

Oh hey friends. So, remember that video and post about being happy because everything's amazing? Yeah. Apparently someone decided it was time for me to put my money where my mouth is. That not complaining about stuff....airlines especially....is much easier said than done. But I have been doing my best. I have time to kill so I am going to tell you my "horror story," but from my attempted optimistic point of view.

Yesterday, I was supposed to fly out of Roanoke at 5:30 to head home for Spring Break. Dallin offered to drive me the hour to the airport, and brought his new girlfriend so that they could go on a date in Roanoke after they dropped me off (that's a whole other story). They dropped me off at about 4:15 and when I got up to the counter to check in, I saw the dreaded big, red "CANCELLED" next to my flight. Only my flight. I didn't love that, but I actually stayed really calm and composed. I waited in line to talk to the man at the counter and decided I should probably be friendly to him since everyone else was yelling at him. (Wouldn't that just be the worst job?) He apologized and got me on the next possible flight to Boise which would be leaving at 11:15 the next morning. My itinerary changed from one layover in Chicago and getting to Boise at midnight, to a layover in Philadelphia, a layover in Phoenix, and getting to Boise at 11:00 the next day. Ugh. I managed to smile and tell him thank you. Then I had to figure out what to do until 11 the next morning. As awful as getting a flight cancelled was, I actually got really lucky when it came to dealing with it. Kenzy's parents just happened to be flying into Roanoke about the same time that I was supposed to be leaving. Rather than calling Dallin and crashing his date, I ended up just riding with Kenzy's parents back to BV. When we got there Kenzy's dad took us out for pizza and we ended up having a lot of fun. This morning Kenz drove me back to Roanoke which also worked well because her parents were staying in a hotel there and her softball game was cancelled, so she was going to spend the day in Roanoke with them anyway. She's the best. Once I got checked in to my flight, I started stressing because it was delayed half an hour. I only had an hour for my layover in Philadelphia to begin with, so being delayed 30 minutes was definitely no bueno. But it's nice how things work out sometimes. My flight out of Philly ended up getting delayed an hour and a half, which means I not only had time to get to my gate, but also to sit here and write this long blog post. I'm feeling pretty good now. My layover in Phoenix was originally 4 hours, so it's nice that it will be shorter now but not too short that I will have to stress about missing my next flight. In the meantime, I am sitting in the Philadelphia airport eating a free (yes, you read that right...free!!) pretzel from Auntie Anne's. Apparently it's free pretzel day there. That was the best news. Also, I had time to buy a Phillies shirt. I have decided that since my boy Papelbon is playing for the Phillies, I am now a Phillies fan.....after the Sox of course. Now I think it's time to break into the Mini Cadbury Eggs. Yum! If I can survive this next 5 hour flight (aghhhhhhh!!!) things will be looking up. Mostly this little 24 hour setback has made me grateful rather than bitter. Grateful to my mom and Robb (our travel agent) who are always helping me every step of the way when I fly (and getting me window seats). Grateful to all my family waiting at home for me and praying that I get there safely. Grateful to my awesome friends and their family who were ridiculously sympathetic and more than willing to do anything they could to get me home. And grateful to God for those convenient little coincidences that are really more like miracles.

It seems a little silly to tell a story when I'm still in the middle of it, but I'm optimistic that the end of the story will be just what we want it to be. See you soon Idaho!