Take me away.....

It's been months since I hopped on a plane. Kyle does this daily - both flying himself, and going to and from home - but not me. I have had a few interesting experiences to say the least so I am somewhat apprehensive about flying stand-by. But, in order to get to and from Ohio in one weekend, I must get on a plane.

This time wasn't too bad. Kyle wanted to "give it a shot" at trying to fly Delta red-eye flight on a Thursday night into Atlanta or Detroit. It didn't look good online, but I trust him in this area. So we drove to the airport at 9:45 p.m. to try and get on one of two flights out at either 10:30 or 11:40 p.m. We sat at the gate (the two flights were right next to each other), met another stand-byer who needed to get to a tiny town in the midwest who was planning to sleep at the airport since it was obvious none of us were getting on these flights.

So we headed home at midnight and decided to take a 6 a.m. flight to Newark and then to Cleveland. This meant we had about three hours of sleep before the 4 1/2 flight. But we made it! Sleep-deprived, hungry and slightly cranky, but in Ohio for a weekend with my family.

Next trip on my/our planner...Sacramento, Seattle, Portland, LA, Hawaii....so many decisions!

Everything has its time

I've learned the hard way that life tends to hand (at least me) some of each. What I mean is, when something bad happens, like really bad, it is usually accompanied by something uplifting and it reminds me of how cyclical life really is.

When I was getting ready to celebrate my 12th birthday, my grandma (and my hero) was getting ready for her final goodbye. She passed two days before my birthday and my birthday party had to be rescheduled because it was the same night as her calling hours. It was the hardest thing I had experienced at that time, and still at the top of my list, but even my young, almost teenage brain saw the connection. That death, while sad and unavoidable, is as natural as new life (or a sweet girl becoming a teenager - AHHHH!!).

I see the same things happen with losses and joys and with happiness and heartbreak frequently. Today I learned of a difficult sadness a friend is dealing with while I am still overjoyed for my recently married friends - both happened the same day. They may not be tied together at all, but it still reminds me that with the bad comes the good in life, and that it is all around. We cannot stop it, we cannot change its course, we can only be part of the ride and know, like waves in the ocean, there will be highs and lows, but it is supposed to be this way.

There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

    a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,
    a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
    a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,
    a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
    a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
    a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,
    a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace.