The Bright Side

All to often things just don't go as planned. We have good intentions, and often good plans, but snags trip us up. They are frustrating. They make us angry. Yesterday, we encountered such a snag.

Kellen was excited and ready to attend his second year of CTY Camp. His plane was scheduled to leave at 6:30. He and Tim were up at 4:00. I got a call at 6:30 from Tim. The airline would not let Kellen board. US Airways does not let minors fly alone until they are 15. (He will be 15 in one week!) The airline blamed the travel agency (and said this happens regularly.) The travel agency, Travelocity, blamed me saying I checked the wrong box.  I'll take part of the blame (though I'm not entirely convinced and there is no way to know,) but his birthday is listed on the ticket for goodness sakes! And seven days later this whole issue would have been a non issue! 

There is plenty to be angry and frustrated about here. And believe me, thinking through some of it makes my blood boil now. The end result of the morning was that Kellen did not get on that, or any other plane. My mom took the three younger kids to church and then dropped them off with our friends, the Richardsons. Tim, Kellen, and I were on the road by 8:30 for the six hour drive to Dickinson College. It wasn't it in our schedule. It wasn't in our budget, but it needed to be done. Now, I'm trying to look at the bright side.

• Time with Kellen. He is rapidly approaching adulthood. He is busy with his own friends and activities. One on one time with him is rare. We got 6 hours of it. It was good.
• We got to see where he will be spending three weeks. He flew in last year, and we never saw the campus, the staff, the dorms, or his friends. We went to the parent orientation. It was nice to see him off on location. And as friends have mentioned, at least camp was close, and his flight was scheduled early enough we could get him there on time.
• We met his teacher. He looks like he is 12. Tim tells me I'm getting old. Kellen will be taking electrical engineering this year. His teacher actually is old enough to have just received his masters, and has been teaching some undergraduate courses. He is personable, and excited about the subject. They have lots of hands on activities. Building electrical things. Tearing apart electrical things. Soldering electrical things. No, I really didn't understand all of what the teacher was saying, but hey Kellen will, and he will love it.
• Time alone with Tim. Another rare thing. We got six hours of it on the ride home. And we stopped for ice cream, and ate entire container of hummus by ourselves. Not, your typical date night, but it was nice. 

It really wasn't a bad trip. Calling it enjoyable might be pushing it a little bit, but it was fine, and the mission was accomplished. 

And Tim called the airline today. Kellen will be flying home as scheduled. That is good news!