grace.

For the past two days, I've been trying to get on a plane and come to TX. I was supposed to be in Houston this weekend to spend time with my immediate family, grandparents, and cousins (who I'm meeting for the first time).

Yesterday, I woke up 4 AM to try and get a standby flight, and was left waiting, for 11 hours, not being able to get on any of four flights. All day, I waited in the airport. My bag had broken on the way and so all the contents of my carry-on were stuffed in a trash bag. I'd taken the more expensive train to get there, but lost the ticket getting into the airport, and had to pay extra to get through (you're supposed to give someone that train ticket to get in). From 4 AM, I missed the 6 AM, the 11 AM, the 12:20, and the 3 pm flight. I went home, dejected, exhausted, stressed, and demoralized. My parents and brother still begged me to try and come the next morning, but I felt sick just thinking about having to spend another entire day at the airport to try and fly home.
The next day, today,, my dad surprised me by telling me he bought me a confirmed ticket so I wouldnt have to wait for standby again. So I came back, but to the wrong airport. Feeling like an idiot, I waited for a shuttle bus that was two hours late, the ATM and Taxi machine was broken so I couldn't hail a cab, or pay for it...
So I stood there. around 2 hours ago this was. I stood on the curb of Newark Airport, my once favorite place to fly from, that I had had always been able to get my first choice flight from before.
I felt so helpless. The flight my dad had booked me came and went. Nothing had been working out these two days, and no matter how responsible I tried to be, or capable, I couldn't do this on my own. Every circumstance had worked against me, I felt.
Suddenly, the man behind me, with his wife and kids behind him, asked me "Do you need anything?"
He ended up paying $100 to a cab driver, to take me to LaGuardia airport, where I am boarding right now, on a later flight.
Calling my dad to let him know, he told me, "you know, mommy and I were just praying for you."
I think sometimes we need to know and be reminded of how much is out of our hands. And I hope I can be more like Mr. Bowers someday (the wifes name was on my taxi receipt, donna bowers), to be so freely generous.