Monday afternoon as we drove to the airport we figured we had a few minutes to spare and decided to drive to the ocean. As we tried to find a road leading there we realized that time was running out and we ended our search and headed back toward the airport. What we hadn't anticipated were the lines. As I approached the counter to check my bag I was told that I was too late and that if I wanted to make my flight at all I would have to leave my luggage and run to the gate. I called Aaron to come back and frantically downsized my suitcase into a carry-on size. Aaron drove the car back around and I threw my bag in the car and rushed toward security. The serpentine line hardly moved and by the time I reached the checkpoint the man in front of me decided that it was a good idea to send his laptop through the x-ray...well, it wasn't.... By this time I was beginning to accept the inevitable, but I ran toward the gate anyway. My fate was sealed as I approached the closing door and watched the stairs slowly move away from the aircraft I was supposed to be on.
What now?
I had never imagined actually missing a flight by seconds. That is something that only happens in the movies right? Wrong!
I stood there, dumbfounded at what had just occurred and unable to know exactly what to do next. Apparently missing flights happens a lot and they just put you on standby for the next flight going to your destination. Okay. That sounds alright. One minor problem...the next flight to Salt Lake wasn't leaving until 8:00 AM the following morning - Aaron lives 2 hours away and works at the hospital in the morning , I work in the morning, I need to take the girls to school in the morning, Emily is picking me up at the airport tonight! Ahhhh!
Well, before I sorted through the myriad of problems this created I first had to call Aaron back a second time to not only rescue my luggage but to rescue me. He graciously saved me and as we drove away I began making phone calls to sort out the mess I had created. My mom agreed to keep the girls and get them to school, I easily found a substitute, Emily agreed to pick me up the next day and Aaron's dad agreed to wake up at the crack of dawn and drive me back to the airport with plenty of time to wait in any blasted lines. I was so wrapped up in the emotion of it all that I almost missed the ocean....my knight in shining armor had brought me to the ocean and I was immediately calm.
This trip was a desert-only trip. Aaron was in the midst of his forth, and final, semester of nursing. He had homework and class and study group and practice tests. I had brought my Cleopatra biography and Maze Runner. We watched the Twilight Zone together and made food and studied. But in the end I got to see my ocean.
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