She's in the Air - September 12, 2011

In the early morning darkness, the bags are loaded.  Tim, Jen, and I head to the airport.  Clinging to the great eternal truths;  we are all smiles.  Remember the floating duck analogy?  My insides were churning just like the duck’s paddling; hidden safely beneath the surface.

Thank you United Airlines!  You made our “see you later” at the security check point much smoother and easier than I could have expected!  The flight had been over sold.  Jen was the passenger with the greatest opportunities to make other connections to her international flight.   So, she went through security (surrendering some liquids determined to be over filling her zip lock) and headed to the gate to wait.  IF everyone arrived for the flight, she would be bumped and ticketed to a flight 4 hours later!  YEAH!  We could have four more hours with her!  IF someone was a “no show” then she would board this flight.....

Oh my word!

Jen heads through security to wait and maybe board her flight to Chicago.

So, saying “see you later” at security had a window of opportunity for seeing her in about 20 minutes and spending the next four hours together.  A ray of hope to delay the inevitable!  So,  the hug “see you later” as she proceeded into security was without ceremony or tears; it was “see you REAL SOON, maybe”.

We waited just beyond the security check point.  We could see each other across the terminal!  And we waited.  Didn’t know the magic number of passengers needed to send Jen back to us and on to the later flight; so counting would have been pointless.    So, we just waited.

Eventually, her  wave signaled to us that she was in deed boarding this flight.  Our hug had actually been a farewell.  But, thank you United Airlines; we had a dignified “see you later” hug instead.  Never had to acknowledge a big time good bye.

She was off!  Her dream took physical form and she was on her way across the big pond!

Days of dreaming, planning, preparing do come to a moment of departure from the predictable and routine.