Broken carry on, lost ipod, and toasted almonds.

With this painful list, most would assume I’ve never traveled before, although my passport reads full until page seven and I try not to spend more than 3 years in any given place. I’ve spent years flying, YEARS! Yet I can’t seem to get it right on the one day my college career depends on it.
I would blame it on poor planning, but since I am 23(and a half) and have concocked a way to still be in undergrad with a month long German excursion as my send off, I would like to say I have planned better than all of you:)
So my first bad decision started by buying a “sensible bag” at Goodwill and trusting it could support a Muth pack job. Handle breaks, I’m forced to improvise with safety pins. I couldn’t walk a step without one popping and stabbing me in the back. It was always at the most interesting times. I’d be making eye contact with a stranger when I would loudly grunt and jerk my shoulder forward awkwardly. And then mistakingly offer them some sort of look of disgust or maltreatment. Most did not respond in a sympathetic nature, but looked down quickly, as to pretend they didn’t see how odd I was.
So with the bag being broken I quickly found a replacement. Not soon enough to protect my ipod from falling out of my other one. Yup. You heard me. Expensive ipod falls out of broken goodwill bag. Somebody is going to have a great flight, with excellent music, while I am going to have to resort to watching twilight with airplane headphones….for 9 hours. Bahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
OK ok, so I meet my group. All sweet actually, some more quiet than others. And I do what I do best, arrange a circle and instruct each to say their name and tell one thing about ourselves, keeping in line the people who speak out of turn. It felt just like purple circle time at the shelter:)
Enough enough I say, get to the traveling part!! Well, I am currently flying over New York, wishing I could parachute out for a few hours and then hop back in flight( prefereably after stealing someones ipod) I’ve watched date night and Sherlock homes. Why do I not think tina fay is funny? Interesting movie but I only laughed once and I’m pretty sure it was at marky mark.
I have a good feeling about this trip. Something tells me its exactly what I need. I’m also pretty sure I have said enough. More to come…
Last thing. I met the most interesting woman on the plane to Dallas. We wore the same color coral and her teeth were whiter than anyone’s I’ve ever seen up close. She was in her mid 60’s I’d say, couldn’t be older than 70. But then again I am horrible at guessing ages. She was hilarious. We heard a harmonica playing over the loud speaker and she leaned over and said, “I sure hope that’s not the pilot.” Just then he reports, “ Thiiiiiis is your pilot speaking bringing you a little…..” and she throws up her hands in the air to the flight attendant and says, “I’m on the wrong flight, I’m going to need another.”
I was explaining to her my broken bag dilemma and she says this, “ Well that would have really rattled my toasted almonds.” :) Then she got serious and commended me in my pursuit of my masters in counseling. She said her counselor saved her life and without her she would have never been able to leave her abusive relationship. I listened to her story and my heart went out to her like every account I hear of domestic violence. This one was special though. This one she got out and she lives to tell the story. She knows she has value. I could tell she wanted to tell me all the secrets of the world she had collected in her day, but there wasn’t enough time. A two hour plane ride went by like that. I love when God places people in your life unexpectedly. In ten years I don’t think I’ll remember my broken bag strap, but I’ll remember the mended soul who sat next to me. My little toasted almond.