What a weekend!

Bear!, originally uploaded by Random and Odd.

I had an awesome weekend…minus the whole ending up in 3 different planes just to get home.

My niece, Cassie, got married this weekend.  She’s (take a breath) 19.   I wanted to slap her in the head when I first heard she was getting married.   I can’t really say much because I was 20 when I married my first husband.

This post isn’t about her getting married, it’s about the plane ride there (and the most amazing welcome home.)

I meet the coolest people when I am in a plane.  Usually it’s a 15 minute flight to altitude before the door opens and we jump out, so the normal, ‘soooo, where you going? where you from?’ isn’t really a good conversation starter.
On the way from Seattle to Redmond I met this amazing older lady.
She told me the story of how she ended up living on the big island and I was captivated by her being fearless as she boarded her plane when she was 19 years old and only turned back to tell her family and the man that proposed that she wouldn’t be coming back.  She told me of her adventures in Italy and showed me some of her artwork.
I told her of my daughters. She said I looked so proud when I spoke of them.

This woman was soft spoken and so I had to really pay attention to the story.  Falling deeper into her 3 months in Italy and hearing her voice almost change to Italian, I realized I wanted to be this woman. I wanted her fearless nature to just board a plane and end up wherever.  She told of the years she was married and was a step mother to five.  She talked of his affair and how she simply wanted her life back. I could relate and bobbed my head in agreement as she showed me her hands and what the artwork and given back to her.  She didn’t care they were gnarled. I didn’t either.

She said to me, “it’s not what life gives you, it’s how you accept it.”  That works with the good and the bad. She had cancer, she fought it with an attitude of happiness.
“Why would I want to bring other people down? If I am going to die, then so be it. If I am going to live, I am going to live. I’m going to make sure that I make someone’s live better just by being here.”
I want to be this woman. I want to be on a plane someday and this woman sits down next to me and says, “You headed home?” and I say, “nope, I am going somewhere new…” and tell about how I survived this life with grace.

Coming home was fantastic. 4 days with my family was amazing, but pulling onto my street and seeing my daughter’s Jeep and boyfriend’s truck in the driveway made the stress of the previous 9 hours melt away.  I soaked in his smile and laughter when I finally got out of the car, wailing about how much I hate planes and I never want to get into another one again.
“I HATE PLANES!” I couldn’t even find the energy to pull myself out.
“except for the next one you’re going to jump out of.” He laughed and helped me out, pulling me into a hug and telling me to shower.
“No, I hate that one too! I hate the sound of them! the smell of them! I hate propellers and jet fuel!” I whined in his shoulder.  He knew all that wasn’t true. I just wanted to be home.

The girls were already on the couch relaxing after their drive home from the wedding.  They drove and I flew and they beat me home. So wrong.
“I SWEAR I didn’t ONCE say, ‘ha ha, i’m flying and you’rrrrrrreeee not!”
“It’s just the fact that you got to fly and your children had to go in a car…Karma.”   Kara pointed out.

It was wonderful being home. The woman’s story still creeps into my mind and I wonder if it was actually the woman from Eat, Pray, Love that was next to me (I asked her if she read it, she did and loved it).  I’m reminded of the love on my nieces face when she was weeping through her vows. The way I felt so welcomed when I got home.

Today is one of those days where I am aware of the blessings I have in my life.