It feels horrible.
I had never missed a flight, and always secretly prided myself in the fact that I would never.
I pay more attention to detail than that.
I never kid myself into thinking I can make it through security in a half hour...
I make sure I'm close to the gate long before boarding time...
So I was safe from that panicked feeling of missing a flight.... right?
Not.
I woke up just as the flight attendant was announcing connecting flights.
The one to Kahului, Maui was just a few gates over... 69A.
So I got off the plane and scrolled down the screen until I saw Kahului.
There it was, 69A, and the time was changed to 7pm.
Oh good, I thought, just an extra twenty minutes wait. No big thing.
I proceeded to get something to eat.
At 6:40 I hopped in line, but when I got to the front something was wrong.
It wasn't my flight. My flight was different from the connecting flight they announced.
And 6:39 was my original takeoff time, so my plane had just left me behind.
No no no no no no.
Thats all you can think when something like that happens.
As if somehow that's going to make it less real.
The next flight wasn't until 9:30 the next morning.
I called my mom. I called my aunt. I called my dad, brother, and little sister.
I called everyone I could think of that lives in the greater LA area.
I even posted on my Facebook in case there was anyone I missed.
Nobody answered, and nobody responded.
So I sat there for a solid hour or more, nobody knowing where I was,
and me not knowing if I would be spending the night alone in a cold airport.
Then I thought of a friend who was going to graduate school in LA, and I was pretty sure term had started a few weeks ago.
So I called. Brilliant. Best decision ever.
She picked me up from the airport and I tagged along with her for the night.
At the end of the night we got caught up talking about life until wee hours of the morning,
and slept like rocks for 3 hours or so.
3 hours in a bed with blankets beats all night on chairs alone any day.
I thought about it a little as we talked, and as I prayed in gratitude that night.
I am so grateful for that experience.
I'm grateful for the opportunity I had to spend some time with someone
who I wouldn't have otherwise had the chance to.
After all, she was just an employee in the office where I volunteered...
it would have been an easy friendship to pass by.
So next time you think it's not worth it to make friends with people in your classes,
or put your headphones in instead of have a conversation with that receptionist...
think again.
Life happens all too quickly, and sometimes you might need a friend.
Let's be real, too often we are in need of a friend.
If you're like me,
you may need a miracle to keep you from spending a miserable night on the floor.
I'm not saying I'm perfect at these things,
but I'm grateful I did it ok at least once.
It made for a splendid night and an even more splendid friendship.
So if you were overly curious about the details of my last plane flight adventure,
there you have it.
Love you forever,
Taylor Ann
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