DRAMA at 10,000 FT!

OK…details…so we were still on the ground….I cannot believe this day.  Its a good thing I am strong emotionally or I would have expired by now. (This is an older story that I stumbled upon and I thought I would post it again).

Last night was Lexie and my last night together before her second  5 – 6 month stint overseas.  I sewed her a dress, mended her leggings while she packed and downloaded Christmas music onto her laptop (for future enjoyment).  Then we decided to sleep together in her bed beneath the twinkle lights framing her Eiffel Tower picture and propped ourselves up with pillows and proceeded to show each other amazing things on Pinterest.  We were watching White Christmas on Lexie’s laptop propped up on a chair at our feet and to this we fell asleep.  Mother and Daughter.  It reminded of the nights I spent with her in my arms at the hospital almost 21 years ago…just holding her and rocking her and basking in her amazing little girl glow.  I could not wait to take her home and watch her grow up and see what she was going to turn into or who she was going to turn into…I was very impatient when I should have been enjoying every second of that miraculous mysterious babyhood stage.  Anyway….I digress.

We awoke this morning in time to get ready and go pick up Grandmama at 10:00 for one last lingering visit at Starbucks.  We were actually on time and we had exactly one hour to spend at Starbucks.   Wonderful Grandma gave Lexie some sacrificial (I am sure) money for her trip and Lexie decided she wanted to deposit it in the bank as it was Canadian and she didn’t want to be carrying around that much money SO….we stopped at Lexie’s bank to deposit it, just before we stopped at my office to get a color photocopy of Lexie’s new passport and we were right on time to pick up Mike (her dad) from downtown and we arrived at the airport at 11:50…our plan was 12:00.  So we are good…..We all jump out of Lexie’s truck (she wanted to drive it one last time as we are selling it now) and opened up the back to get Lexie’s luggage.

Major production….with Thomas Cook Airlines….you are only allowed one carry on (no purses or laptops) that weighs 11lbs and one piece of checked in luggage at 44lbs.  Well anyone that knows Lexie at all knows that a fashionista of her calibre requires more than 44lbs of clothing, boots, shoes, purses, coats, sweaters, scarves, books, electronic equipment, Christmas decorations if she is staying anywhere longer than a week.  Conundrum.  How are we (how did I get involved in this?..oh, yes, the mother thing)…going to make this work?  When Lexie was finished packing there was quite a pile of discards on the floor that she longingly eyed but could not fit and her plan was to fill her carry-on with 11lbs of stuff and I carried her purse with the rest of the stuff she had to have but could not fit…in case she was able to get through with it all.  Not to mention when we gathered around the back of the truck Lexie proceeded to add to her dress, leggings and cardigan (that she was already wearing) …a tube skirt, a pair of over the knee boots, a Lululemon sweat jacket, a jean jacket over top of that, a long black wooly tube scarf and her expensive camera around her neck (She would say it was jewelry)….So off we toddle into the terminal with the Michelin Woman.  If you can’t pack it…wear it.

Lexie and her dad proceed through the check out…her bag was .3lbs over…they let it go and they did not even weigh her carry on (just asked to see it) and Lexie asked if she could have a purse and they said yes.  SO….she stuffed her expensive camera into her suitcase before putting it on the belt (not sure that was the best idea but anyhoo)…and then proceeded to rearrange her carry on and purse so it looked like a carry on and a normal purse and then tried to walk with it all as if it weighed nothing.  (I mean her purse had a sweater, jeans, boots, a coat, a thick book, Christmas lights and make up in it)….I can’t remember what was in the carry on  (because in Airport lingo…”I did not pack it myself”).

Lexie was feeling pretty smug that she made all of this work and we still had time for Subway.  So we ate and joked and took pictures until it was time to let her go through security.  We held her and hugged her and kissed her and soaked her with our tears and let her proceed into the security maze.  She texted me after they strip searched her (just kidding) and said “Piece of cake”…when we could no longer see her – Dad, Grandma and I dragged our heels back to the truck.  We had decided to go to Costco before going home (1/2 way between airport and home)…we were out of gas so Mike pulled up to get gas and while he was filling the truck…I got a text from Lexie.  “Mom…is my money card case in the car?”…..I’m like  “What?  You mean you don’t have it?”….No she can’t find it.  So I look around and finally see a little flash of hot pink trim and see it…so I text back…yes its here.  It is 2:06 and her plane is leaving at 2:30 and this case contains her credit card, her bank card, her drivers license and all her means of paying for anything.  She has no British pounds on her and she is going to need to pay for a train from Gatwick airport to the YWAM base and now she has no money and no way of accessing her bank account…panic.  So I tell her to go to the boarding desk…butt in- this in an emergency and find out if they will wait if we drive back with it.  So Lexie calls me right back and says the Flight attendant said if the plane is still on the ground when we get there…call him and he will run to security to meet dad and get the case and bring it back to the plane.  Luckily we had already filled with gas because we drove back on fumes and that would have wasted precious time.  So Mike blasted back onto Deerfoot and gunned it (as much as you can on the Deerfoot)….and we pulled up outside the airport terminal at precisely 2:15.  We thought no problem….planes NEVER leave on time.  So Mike leaves us babysitting the still running truck and runs to security…I phone Lexie and tell her he’s on his way and she is supposed to call the Flight attendant and he will run to security to meet Mike.  Meanwhile,  Mom and I are in the car and I reparked it in a better spot…just happens to be facing the tarmack and I say to Mom…”Oh look…there is Lexie’s plane (Thomas Cooke) and its still on the ground…great!  Just at that moment my phone rings and I hear Lexie’s voice and as she is telling me…sobbing…”.its not going to work”….I say “I know…I am looking at your plane right now and it is backing away from the gate”….as I listened to Lexie cry and my heart breaking for her I watched the Thomas Cooke plane taxi down the runway…..I felt like I was part of some movie…the plane backed away from the gate at precisely 2:22…since when do planes leave early (let alone on time)????  So I did my best to calm Lexie down and told her not to worry and that everything was going to be OK…I would call London and I would make sure there was someone to meet her at the airport at 6:30am even if I had to call  Buckingham Palace and have the Queen bring around the emergency wedding carriage and that I would FEDEX her case to her tomorrow.  Its not the end of the world but she was SO stressed about the whole luggage thing and so relieved when it all worked out…to have this happen totally caught her off guard and she melted down (and to be fair, it really was more a series of unfortunate incidents than irresponsibility)….she had her card case in her luggage until she stopped at the bank to deposit Grandma’s money and then she put it in this front tray in the truck with her phone and passport and other stuff she was taking.  When we stopped to get Mike from downtown and switched drivers I grabbed her phone and the other stuff and handed it to her in the back seat (not knowing her card case was also tucked in there (under the emergency brake)…so she probably thought she had everything of importance.

Just as I was struggling with letting her go again….How many times do I have to do this and will it ever get easier?…..her final words to me were gut wrenching, heart breaking sobs….I just wanted to leap over the chain link fence (and I probably could have with my super mom protective powers) and run down the runway after that Thomas Cooke airplane and yell…”Bring back my baby…you insensitive, cold hearted, punctual kidnappers!”….But she was gone.

Long story longer…..I did get ahold of one of her friends also in London YWAM (thank goodness I have them all on Facebook)….and told her Lexie would be needing a ride from the airport to the base because she has no means to pay for the train and I think my heart lept inside me when I read her post a few moments later (who says its bad that people spend all their time on Facebook?)  that said “I’m on it!” and a few moments later “Don’t worry Joselo will be there to pick her up”.

Seriously,  how much of this drama can I take???

As as I was pondering what the purpose of todays events was…because I know God always has a plan and He uses everything in our lives….I was trying to figure this one out. It seemed so senseless…and then I felt the Lord whisper to me “lean not unto your own understanding” but if you have to have an explanation try this one on for size…maybe this wasn’t about Lexie…maybe its about you. Maybe it was my lesson….I believe it was my fault that Lexie left the card case in the car because I handed her back her phone and passport that were in that middle section of the truck (and of course did not know or see the card case)….If I hadn’t been trying to be such a hovercraft…Lexie would have picked up the stuff herself at the airport and known her card case was there as well and taken it too. But NO….I had to interfere.

I believe the Lord tried to explain to me…see what happens when you try to do my job and try to take care of your girl all on your own (like what would she do without you)? I WILL be taking care of her and guess what? I can do it better than you. You don’t always get everything right…now can you see that? I will go with Lexie and I will take care of her. This was really not a huge crisis (although it seemed so at the time)…..Isn’t God kind to try to teach us the lessons using inconsequential things? I am just sorryLexie had to suffer so I could learn something.

But I KNOW that God is taking care of Lexie and HE will cover her with His feathers and He will guide her and show her the way to should go….meanwhile I am back here learning all the lessons (I hope) that God wants me to learn. He takes care of us both. And that IS a comfort to a mother’s heart and soul.