1. Slept in...bliss.
2. Spent the day packing for my first cruise. Mother/daughter Carribbean vacation with my teenager. We have not done much international travel so this is a huge thing for us.
3. Manicure/pedicure...again bliss. My reward to myself for losing twenty pounds this past three months.
4. Hearing the sound of my children laughing. Nothing better.
Last week's trip to see my son meant two airplane trips (there and back) - and two crazy tales. Both of them taught me about gratitude in different ways.
On our trip out things were running along smoothly. We had boarded the plane and taxied out to the runway. We sat there for quite some time before the announcement was made that there was something wrong with the right engine and it would not engage. They were troubleshooting. After about a half hour of that they announced that it was more serious than they could handle alone and were calling in a specialized mechanic. They took us back to the terminal and we all went back to the waiting area for what turned out to be about a 5 hour wait. Certainly not what we had been expecting, but not the end of the world as we knew it either. Watching the passengers became an interesting psychological study however. There were some who were really upset. Probably in many cases for good reason. Perhaps they were going to miss an important event or a connecting flight. They were the ones who charged up to the attendant to loudly complain and make demands. The attendants did the best they could to help them find alternate flights or issued food vouchers to make their wait more comfortable. I could not help but note though that, as usual, the person taking the brunt of their frustration was in no way to blame for the situation. As if the attendant there had personally damaged the plane? Or could fix it? As much as they tried to help they could not make a broken plane fly on time. So all of that fussing essentially did no good at all other than to pass their anger onto someone else. Seems like a waste of all of that emotion to me. Other passengers were less overt but I will call them the "grumblers". No ranting and raving from them but a slow and steady spew of murmurings for the entire 5 hours. They engaged other passengers in their game as if that would somehow make the situation more bearable to endlessly rehash the obvious. The illusion is that if we talk a lot about a situation that we are doing something about it. But yet the plane still did not fly. Once again the grumblers did nothing positive other than to maintain a sour disposition for the entirety of the ordeal. And to spread their dark humor to anyone else who had the misfortune of sitting nearby. Both of the above are common responses when a frustrating situation is presented to us. But neither are effective in the least toward solving the problem. It makes sense to get aggressive at times I think, if there will be a positive result that comes from it. But some problems just cannot be solved that way. Some problems simply need to be accepted and patiently endured...no way around it. So what then? What about when we have no control? Well, why not smile? Why not see the positive? It can't hurt right? My husband and I and the third group of passengers chose to say, "well this is not what we planned for today BUT aren't we glad they discovered the problem with the engine while on the runway rather than once we were air born. Being delayed is no big deal when compared with the chance of a plane crash is it? Perspective, perspective, perspective. Soooo...since we are stuck here and cannot change that what can we do to make it better?" We played games on our iphones, grabbed a bite to eat, and then took a long walk around the airport looking at the gallery of photographs displayed in every terminal. There were amazing shots of various places in the United States. We saw the Grand Tetons, a farm in Vermont with fall colors on the trees, the St. Louis arch..etc. The photos were beautiful; and there were a couple hundred of them. It occurred to us that someone had spent a lot of time and money to put that whole gallery together and probably only a handful of people had ever had the time to walk around and see it all. We were the lucky ones. We discovered many new places we want to visit too. Sometimes the unexpected brings blessings we could not have foreseen and we had a lot of fun that day wandering around. We finally did board the plane and got on our way but I will tell you...the passengers from the first two groups looked worn out and miserable. The grateful few were happy and refreshed from the break. It was the exact same situation for all of us but the outcome of our attitudes was vastly different. It made me decide right then and there to choose to be happy. Because indeed it is a choice. Always!
Our flight home was on schedule and running along smoothly. I think we even commented that it was going much better than the last one had. Never should have said that though because I think we jinxed it. About half way across the country we unexpectedly encountered the worst turbulence I have ever experienced on a flight. The pilot told us later as we were walking toward baggage claim that it was the worst turbulence HE had ever experienced as well. It took the flight crew totally by surprise and went on for about 5 minutes. That does not sound like a very long time but believe me when you are terrified it feels like forever. This turbulence involved several 'weightless" drops and lots of shaking where you had the distinct impression that the pilot was struggling to maintain control of the aircraft. Total silence from the cockpit too which was eerie...no reassuring words for us. Just a lot of swaying and dropping. Many passengers screamed and all of us tried to stay as calm as we could. But it was scary. I think it was in everyone's mind that the plane might actually go down. And when that thought comes you feel very helpless because there is not a single thing you can do about it. My husband said he wondered what would happen to our kids since we both were on the plane. I don't think I coherently thought about anything...just kept a vice grip on my husband's arm and prayed a lot. Eventually the pilot was able to get us out of the trouble spot and things stabilized. He then came on the intercom and said he hoped no one was hurt. I don't think anyone was. But my hands kept shaking for a very long time after that. And that is when I began to think again. Once again perspective is the key word. Suddenly when faced with possible sudden death priorities shift instantly. Most of the things I had been worrying about at the beginning of that day did not seem to matter much anymore. So many things I was wasting energy and emotion on were really insignificant in the grand scheme of things. I wanted only to get home and hug my kids and tell them I loved them. I was grateful for all of my blessings. I was thankful for another day to live. Why does it have to take a near plane wreck to feel like that though? Why do we let so many little things weigh us down? I am trying to learn this lesson in my life. Let the little stuff go. It really doesn't matter. So next time I feel stressed I mean to ask myself...if I was in a plane about to go down, would I care about this at all??? And if the answer is no...well then it is not worth getting worked up over. This experience also made me feel intense gratitude for the skills of others and the training they have gone through to make our lives better. Thank you to that pilot for pulling us through so we all had another day to be thankful for.
