Nonna Determination

An update on my attempt to see the grandkids.

After airports closing last week – on the night I was planning to fly to Cincinnati – I planned to head out to LaGuardia early Thursday morning and begin my journey to visit my son and his family.

Car service was scheduled for 4:15 am – yes that says “am”.  Anyone who knows me well enough, knows that is quite an accomplishment, being I am definitely not a morning person.  But I was up, ready, and on time.  As I approached the security area at LaGuardia – I could see there was already chaos with the mass of people who couldn’t fly the night before.  But I went through without any difficulty and decided to make the best of whatever was in store for me.  My flight was scheduled for 6:05 am.

I found a good cup of coffee – a cranberry scone – and a comfy seat at the gate and relaxed.  As the time drew near – I noticed all flights were overbooked – and announcements asking people to give up their seats were constantly being heard.  This didn’t look good.

I didn’t get on my 6:05 am flight – and was rolled over to the next flight – which was approximately 11:40 am.  But I soon found out that too was overbooked.  This continued throughout the day.  I traveled from gate to gate – terminal to terminal – grabbing snacks and coffee along the way – and making new friends that were in the same situation as I was – all trying to get into Cincinnati!  I had my nook – did tons of reading – took a snooze or two – and became very familiar with LaGuardia Airport!  I felt like a character in Terminal and was sure I saw Viktor Navorski scurrying around the airport as well.  I remembered the tag line for that movie was, Life is Waiting – how appropriate!

I relaxed and realized me stressing out or carrying on at each gate will not change the situation – and will only make me miserable.  So I smiled, kept an eye on the departure schedule and continued through my day.

LaGuardia has recently revamped their terminals – with massive seating areas with iPads available to use at no cost.  Not only can you search the web, play games, and whatever else iPads are good for, you could also search restaurants in the airport, order food and have it delivered to the seat you are at.

I had amazing conversations with the many others I continued to run into at each gate, who were also desperately trying to get out of NYC!  There was a group that was stressed out and miserable and then my gang who just laughed and enjoyed another coffee & snack.

As the afternoon was drawing to an end – and I saw the next flight was overbooked by 14 people – I decided to call it a day – head on home and try, once more, on Friday morning.

I called a friend to see if he was available to pick me up at the airport – trying to save a few dollars on cab fare – and he was available.  I headed home – had a nice dinner – chatted with my son about my next attempt early Friday morning and went to bed. 

My son & I had been texting back and forth all day.  At one point, he sent me a text that said we had sent over 71 text messages on that one day!  I stayed calm – actually had an enjoyable day – and when I returned home, found an email message from my son:  You're a great example of patience, hope, and a positive attitude during a very trying and disappointing situation. If I'm half as pleasant as you in a similar situation, I'll be happy.  :)

This definitely warmed my heart and I realized that I was only able to be this example by a changed heart due to my relationship with the Lord.

Friday 4:15 am came & once again – car arrived and took this determined Nonna to the airport one more time.  Flights were still overbooked – I’m still trying to understand why they do this – but miraculously I did get on the overbooked 6:05 am flight – arrived at the Cincinnati airport at 8:15 am – and was greeted by two smiling, running, amazing boys – ready with super hugs for Nonna! 

All I went through disappeared immediately!