A few things about traveling have always tied my stomach in knots. Images fill my head of racing across an entire airport, doomed to miss my connecting flight, passports vanishing into thin air, my children falling victim to creepy stranger danger, a shore excursion that leaves me in a Mexican prison, the list goes on...then on a bit more.
My failure to launch, fly, or what have you, has been inhibited by these fears on a number of occasions. I travel so seldom, I've been dubbed the official den mother of nearly all plants and pets for my neighbors when they decide to take an impromptu excursion.
"Just ask Kacey," they said.
"She's always home," they said.
That's right. Home teaching you plants some colorful words and sharing your peanut butter with the dog.
Small side note: I love peanut butter but my son is allergic. So, since I can't have it in my own home, Diem of the Carpe!
Small side note: I love peanut butter but my son is allergic. So, since I can't have it in my own home, Diem of the Carpe!
When I happened upon an elderly lady just outside my Wednesday stop at Café Rio. My outlook on ravel suddenly changed.
I turned to find my husband bent over the passenger side window of a newer model Cadillac. I felt fairly certain he wasn't drooling over the vehicle. He's a Chevy fan. And I was pretty sure he wasn't offering himself for a date. He's a pretty funny guy, I wouldn't put it past him, but the café rio bag wafting a finger crook of delicious flavor, something else must be amiss.
I bent down beside him for a better look, to find a lovely elderly woman, her soulful blue eyes brimming with tears.
"Can you tell her where the Office Max is," my husband implored.
I looked at him in dismay.
Me? Why me? I'm the queen of misdirection! When faced with a stressful situation, left quickly becomes right and I forget where I live!
I buried my nose in my trusty phone, and in just a few clicks, I had address and directions a glow in my hand.
I showed the sweet lady which direction to head,
"I---I just don't" she sputtered in broken English. She blinked back tears.
I took a deep breath. "I will come with you." I declared. "Is that okay?"
And just like that, we were off.
My husband drove ahead and I prompted her to follow, as she careened down the busy road. Through the drive, I learned of her harrowing encounter with TSA and the near confiscation of her pudding, about her large family she was visiting--who by the way, begged her not go out on her own today.
And I learned she had managed this trip all the way from New York.
This delightful elderly woman had managed this trip all the way from the Big Apple, and not only had she made it here, she came from...there! One of the scariest places in my country-bumpkin mind!
I have vowed from that moment on, to always consider the bravery of that lovely 75-year-old lady. To understand that although traveling might be a scary thing, it shouldn't stop you from doing what you love.
I turned to find my husband bent over the passenger side window of a newer model Cadillac. I felt fairly certain he wasn't drooling over the vehicle. He's a Chevy fan. And I was pretty sure he wasn't offering himself for a date. He's a pretty funny guy, I wouldn't put it past him, but the café rio bag wafting a finger crook of delicious flavor, something else must be amiss.
I bent down beside him for a better look, to find a lovely elderly woman, her soulful blue eyes brimming with tears.
"Can you tell her where the Office Max is," my husband implored.
I looked at him in dismay.
Me? Why me? I'm the queen of misdirection! When faced with a stressful situation, left quickly becomes right and I forget where I live!
I buried my nose in my trusty phone, and in just a few clicks, I had address and directions a glow in my hand.
I showed the sweet lady which direction to head,
"I---I just don't" she sputtered in broken English. She blinked back tears.
I took a deep breath. "I will come with you." I declared. "Is that okay?"
And just like that, we were off.
My husband drove ahead and I prompted her to follow, as she careened down the busy road. Through the drive, I learned of her harrowing encounter with TSA and the near confiscation of her pudding, about her large family she was visiting--who by the way, begged her not go out on her own today.
And I learned she had managed this trip all the way from New York.
This delightful elderly woman had managed this trip all the way from the Big Apple, and not only had she made it here, she came from...there! One of the scariest places in my country-bumpkin mind!
I have vowed from that moment on, to always consider the bravery of that lovely 75-year-old lady. To understand that although traveling might be a scary thing, it shouldn't stop you from doing what you love.
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