Friday, June 27, 2014
Friday, June 20, 2014
F#@% Frontier
Wow! What a trip! I keep aiming to figure out what the universe is attempting to tell me. First, Katie and I could not get here due to severe weather and now I can't get home!!
Let me just say that severe weather looked like two tornados touching down in Madison area, a lightening storm and crazy rain and wind. We actually had to land in Milwaukee (of all the times to fly into Madison!!!) Then we had to fly 80 miles around the storm to finally land at 3 in the morning! I know the airlines can't help the weather.
But they can help the rest of my story!
After getting up at 330 am to get back to Madison for my 545am flight, I arrive to a long line and a poster board that says "Flight 161 canceled" with an 800 number. Most flights were canceled that day due to weather. Mine? The crew was "fatigued"!
So I stand in line for 2 hours, wait on hold with frontier for over an hour and finally it's my turn. No flights. Frontier has no agreement with any other REAL airlines to let you get home that way. The only available flight to Denver is the next day!
Originally, I was suppose to land at 9am yesterday. Now I am getting in at 11pm the following day!
Not only that, but when I stood in the customer service line to ask to get on stand by (because there are two other flights before the last one which I am on) I specifically asked if I was first on stand by and she said yes. Well, a yes would have meant I got on that flight! Frontier has this way of just telling you what u want to hear to get you out of their hair!
There were two seats open. They called these two women three times and they did not show up. Those were the two seats. Literally-I know I have a tendency to exaggerate but I'm not-1 minute later the two women show up. And frontier tells them they gave their seats away. I bet you could see the people!
One started crying. She was young. The other lady yells how much this sucks and thanks frontier for getting her fired!
Now I am just sitting her stuck in Denver.
Again!
And I'm suppose to get a voucher and I bet they will have issues that I booked thru Orbitz. Not that I ever really want to fly frontier again!
Just the right amount
There was a huge storm the morning we dropped off Katie. But it was a great distraction as well. We ended up arriving at the bus stop early and were quite relieved when we did arrive!
It was great to have Vanessa with us. That meant Katie and I were not just looking at each other fretting about her heading off to camp.
There were several other cars parked there too and when the rain stopped, a dad came over and asked if we had someone heading off to camp. Before we knew it, Katie already had a friend her age!
The bus arrived and with it, so did a little panic. There were a few tears, but when the other girl's mom hopped off the bus and told katie her daughter was saving a seat for her-all was good!
And off she went!
I suppose it's one thing to have Katie be away for that long, but it adds another element that I will not be able to hear from her either!
I know Katie though. And I know she Id ready for this! She's got a big space in herself that is eager to have something all on her own there, something that she fully owns and camp will be it.
Of course, I do get a little melancholic thinking about that the girl I dropped off might be pretty different from the one I pick up, but it's all good!
If you go to the camp website, you can log on and see pics of her. She looks happy!
Monday, June 16, 2014
My sweet girl, Katie
Well, it is hard to believe, but the time has come to get ready to fly out tonight because camp is just around the corner.
Ah - my sweet girl Katie....I am going to MISS HER!! Of course, I am not letting on how much so that she can work through her own thoughts and feelings about heading off to camp for three weeks, but I think I will find myself sitting in her room quite often while she is away and just thinking of her.
I think there is probably something special about the first born for every mother, however, there is something above and beyond that is special about Katie. She has the biggest and most compassionate heart of any kid I know. She is so well balanced inside herself that she truly can step forth into this experience and know 'she's got this!'
We were snuggling last night in bed and talking about how we were both feeling about her heading off to camp. I told her that I would never have her do something that I knew she could not handle. And so it then just becomes a matter of her believing in herself that she could do it.
I think what I get the most emotional about is that she is just growing up....and the little girl I am dropping off at camp might be the same little girl I pick up in mid July. I know - they grow - and sometimes it is truly annoying when I have just bought a brand new swim suit, size 12, last season and it no longer fits! But with that growing, I see her blossoming into this young woman, and I cannot help but think back to all the days we spent toddling around the block leaving birdseed at the base of every tree for the birds and squirrels and her silly little dance party before bed when bedtime was still at 7pm, and her little girl squinty-eyed smile beaming up at me. Now we fit in the same clothes and she is looking more across at me than up!
It is not about me feeling like I am getting old (which is true - I mean, when did my knees start to sag?) but rather about watching, so closely, someone else grow, someone so very close to your heart and knowing that someday there is an enormous "letting go" that happens, however still feeling this enormous wave of pride and love and connection.
I just have this vision of standing on the deck with this beautiful bird that I have deeply cared for for so long and having this moment of knowing that I need to send this little bird out into the world to fly free and realizing at that moment that it is not about me but the flight of this little bird that's most important, but that first move towards opening my hands and allowing that little bird to go is a hard move to make, yet essential, I know.
Speaking of flying free....remember the owl we attempted to rescue. I am not sure if I ever updated that story, but that little owl did die- he never made it through surgery because its broken wing was just too broken. Anyway, while we were there, I had mentioned to the woman who runs this nonprofit bird sanctuary that we would love to offer our land as a place to release any of the healed birds. So, all this time passes and we hear nothing and I figured it was one of those things that I offered and she was polite, however, nothing would ever come of it.
WELLLLLLLLLLL - she just called a couple weeks ago asking if she could release on our property. So when we all arrive back in August, she is coming out and will release some Great Horned Owls....ironically, there are three of them. And it will be like that vision I have of standing on the deck but in real life!
Send Katie lots of positive energy and love over these next few days. This will be a big week for her. And write her lots of letters.
Ah - my sweet girl Katie....I am going to MISS HER!! Of course, I am not letting on how much so that she can work through her own thoughts and feelings about heading off to camp for three weeks, but I think I will find myself sitting in her room quite often while she is away and just thinking of her.
I think there is probably something special about the first born for every mother, however, there is something above and beyond that is special about Katie. She has the biggest and most compassionate heart of any kid I know. She is so well balanced inside herself that she truly can step forth into this experience and know 'she's got this!'
We were snuggling last night in bed and talking about how we were both feeling about her heading off to camp. I told her that I would never have her do something that I knew she could not handle. And so it then just becomes a matter of her believing in herself that she could do it.
I think what I get the most emotional about is that she is just growing up....and the little girl I am dropping off at camp might be the same little girl I pick up in mid July. I know - they grow - and sometimes it is truly annoying when I have just bought a brand new swim suit, size 12, last season and it no longer fits! But with that growing, I see her blossoming into this young woman, and I cannot help but think back to all the days we spent toddling around the block leaving birdseed at the base of every tree for the birds and squirrels and her silly little dance party before bed when bedtime was still at 7pm, and her little girl squinty-eyed smile beaming up at me. Now we fit in the same clothes and she is looking more across at me than up!
It is not about me feeling like I am getting old (which is true - I mean, when did my knees start to sag?) but rather about watching, so closely, someone else grow, someone so very close to your heart and knowing that someday there is an enormous "letting go" that happens, however still feeling this enormous wave of pride and love and connection.
I just have this vision of standing on the deck with this beautiful bird that I have deeply cared for for so long and having this moment of knowing that I need to send this little bird out into the world to fly free and realizing at that moment that it is not about me but the flight of this little bird that's most important, but that first move towards opening my hands and allowing that little bird to go is a hard move to make, yet essential, I know.
Speaking of flying free....remember the owl we attempted to rescue. I am not sure if I ever updated that story, but that little owl did die- he never made it through surgery because its broken wing was just too broken. Anyway, while we were there, I had mentioned to the woman who runs this nonprofit bird sanctuary that we would love to offer our land as a place to release any of the healed birds. So, all this time passes and we hear nothing and I figured it was one of those things that I offered and she was polite, however, nothing would ever come of it.
WELLLLLLLLLLL - she just called a couple weeks ago asking if she could release on our property. So when we all arrive back in August, she is coming out and will release some Great Horned Owls....ironically, there are three of them. And it will be like that vision I have of standing on the deck but in real life!
Send Katie lots of positive energy and love over these next few days. This will be a big week for her. And write her lots of letters.
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
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