I'm back safe and sound. New York City was enchanting, enthralling, engaging, and expensive.
My three friends are fantastic, as all true friends are. We walked, talked, ate, visited museums, ate some more, talked even more, and tried to solve several of the world's most serious crises. We came up with some great ideas, but I lost my notes on the flight home, so we'll have to get together again soon and rehash our discussions. Seriously, we did try to talk about every topic under the sun, and we managed to cover about 7,416 of them. We'll have to plan another get together soon.
My return flight was delayed on Friday night due to the absence of our flight attendant. It was one of those puddle-jumper planes: two pilots and one attendant. We were supposed to take off at 7 PM, but the flight attendant wasn't due to arrive at LaGuardia until 8:05. Call me crazy, but I think that her 8 PM arrival would have a negative effect on our 7 PM departure. We waited. She arrived at LGA, but then she went home. I guess it had been a long day for her. The next flight attendant was due to arrive at 9 PM. She arrived at LGA, but she refused to take another flight. Something about a baby to get home to. And what about us, babe? Don't our babies count??? Finally, a rotund, but cooperative flight attendant decided to help get us home. We, his sleepy charges, applauded his arrival. Our wheels lifted off the runway at 9:50 PM - I know that because I always record the time when the wheels lift off and when the wheels touch down in my journal. (For those of you keeping score at home, that is yet another one of my obsessive acts.)
By the time we landed, I grabbed my cosmetics satchel off the baggage claim carousel, took the shuttle to the minivan, took the minivan to the quiet cul-de-sac in South Charlotte, and took my tired self to bed, it was nearly 12:30 on Saturday morning. Long day. Long trip. I enjoyed every minute of it.
There were the two Bank of America businessmen who were on their way home from New York. Along with them, I offered my services as stand-in flight attendants on American Flight 4897. The ticket counter people didn't accept our offer. There was the woman all in purple who had been at LGA since 1:30 that afternoon trying to get to Raleigh for a funeral and family reunion. Bumped from one flight to the next, she was hoping to get a seat on the last flight out. We shared sob stories and laughed at how preposterous both of our situations seemed to be.
As I stood in line waiting to board my flight, she came to where I was standing and said good-bye. I wished her well on her journey, and she responded, "You guys gave me quite a few laughs, so I'll be okay either way." One young woman who couldn't have been out of her teens was quite upset about the delays, but she sat nearby and listened to our silly banter about how ridiculous it was that one missing flight attendant could potentially cause an entire flight of passengers to have to find someplace to sleep overnight. She was visibly relieved when Philip, our saintly soda server, signed in for duty.
Today has been another long day for me. Two baseball practices (yes, he's on two teams!), one softball practice, two sermons, one panicked drive from Kristiana's softball practice to Daniel's second baseball practice to rescue Steve and Daniel - somehow Steve's car keys ended up in Kristiana's purse which ended up in our kitchen after I picked her up from Daniel's baseball practice and took her home to get ready for her softball practice (Did that make any sense?) - later, I sit here at home grateful to be home safe and sound.
Some people took off in a plane in Kentucky this morning and won't ever be returning home again. I'm sure their family memebers wish a flight attendant had been missing in action this morning.
On a celebratory note: Today is the first anniversary of Maya's adoption. We picked her up from the breeder on the last Sunday of August last year. No regrets - except for when she pees on the carpet.
Tomorrow morning, I have to have a wisdom tooth pulled; needless to say, I'm not looking forward to that. It's the only molar in my mouth that has never had a cavity, but it's gotta go because it's growing too long and will soon hit the gum below and begin to cause nerve damage. At least that's the explanation my dentist gave me. Truthfully, I think he's in cahoots with the oral surgeon and they all want a piece of the action. Get this: because it's only a single tooth extraction, the insurance company won't cover my anesthesia. I'll have to either pay for the laughing gas out of pocket or suck down a bottle of gin just before he begins his dismal duty. That second option requires a designated driver, so I guess I'll go with the giggly first option.
Assuming that my recovery goes smoothly and is relatively bloodless, we will officially open The Silvermine Academy on Tuesday morning. School will be back in session; homeschooling that is. Perhaps we will make tee shirts as our first art project. Kristiana saw a boy at church today wearing a shirt that said: "Caution: Unsocialized Homeschooler." I love it! It's always the first question: what about socialization? My answer is another question: what positive socialization do kids learn in school? I have yet to recieve an answer compelling enough to make me consider school as a worthwhile social training facility. I know that school has many benefits; I openly admit that I loved school. But having been a student, a teacher, a coach, an advisor, and a college counselor in an earlier life, I can say with certainty that social training isn't one of them.
Well, I'd better turn in. I've got a tough day ahead. Good thing I don't have to record these missives. I won't be doing much talking twelve hours from now. I'm sure my husband and children won't be as upset by that prospect as I am.
Again, it's good to be back.
Thank you, Judy, Susie, and Pamela for
a most excellent NYC adventure.
Let's do it again soon.
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