Traveling at Thanksgiving is enough to make even the most seasoned travel crazy. Like so many families that cross country parent, we spend our fair share of time in airports. Last summer was the first time the Sonish flew by himself to see us. Normally we fly to him or we drive 5+ hours to meet his mom's family halfway.
Over the summer, we hired a chaperone from Delta to make sure he made his connection. He was quick to inform us it was like being with a prison warden and that he was old enough to manage it on his own. So this Thanksgiving, we decided to try it. The flight to Indiana on Wednesday couldn't have been better. In fact, he arrived 20 minutes early. We couldn't have asked for more. Then came the flight back on Sunday. Navigating our regional airport was simple and flawless but the connection didn't go quite so smooth. What was supposed to be a 45 minute lay over turned to 3+ hours, 9 gate changes, one cancellation, and one reinstatement. As we watched from our home office, we couldn't believe it. We would have been so frustrated. How on earth was he going to navigate this on his own?
Turns out, he did a GREAT job. Yes he was tired and yes he was ready to be out of the airport but he managed the drama with the experience of seasoned traveler. Actually he is a seasoned travel as his grandparents have taken him on many great trips in his young life. This, however, was the first time he'd done it by himself. His response to the craziness, "What good does it do to be mad about it? It doesn't get me there any faster."
He taught me a lesson that day about letting go and staying calm cool and collected. I believe it was Maya Angelou who said, "I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights." She's right and what I can tell about the Sonish is that he's growing up and growing into an amazing young man. We couldn't be more proud of him.
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