Finding Serendipity

In the midst of all the craziness of the beginning of a semester, I have added job interviews to the mix. It feels a bit surreal to be at this point, but that is another entry for another day. This is merely a rather funny, perhaps heart-warming story about finding yourself in unexpected places at unexpected times...

So I was scheduled to do an interview on campus during the worst snow storm the southeast has seen this winter. The university is not culpable in this tale, and shall remain nameless. However, I was in constant communication, just trying to be sure that the money they put into that ticket for me was well spent. Whether that meant that I show up or not show up, I wanted to play out in what was best for them. So here is the story as it began.

First, the airline cancelled my ticket for the early flight and rebooked me the same day, late in the afternoon, through Detroit, not Atlanta. I breathed a sigh of relief...until I realized it was also snowing like the devil in Detroit. All day, we faithfully checked to make sure the flights were still a go. Everything looked great!

Mark dropped me off at the airport, I checked in, and just as I settled into my seat, the flight was announced as delayed...30 min. But anyone with a connecting flight AFTER 7:30 was fine. I went to the desk and said, "But my 20 min. check in time IS 7:30" and she said, "I SAID you were fine, you are fine. Your flight doesn't leave until 7:50. You will make it." I didn't say I didn't believe her, but I didn't believe her. THEN she announces, don't go if you are going to miss your flight because there are no rooms available around the Detroit airport. I called my contacts and we decided it would be ok to move ahead.

Got on the plane and thought it was all good...and then the plane sat on the runway for 20 minutes because we needed to be de-iced. Well, that is a great reason right? So now, I am thinking I will arrive at 7:30...close, but Delta 'validated' the connection, right? Oh, it gets better!! We arrive to land in Detroit about 7:20, but there isn't a place to land and we stay floating around the airport in a holding pattern until 7:35...stay on the tarmac waiting for our terminal to be ready for us for another 5 min...then the lift containing the luggage was caught on snow (are you starting to catch my drift here?) and I was able to grab my bag at 7:43...RAN down the hallway after having the Delta person call the gate...and arrived at my gate at 7:49...no plane. It was gone. Left ON TIME. Imagine that!

All the bedraggled passengers from my flight were sent to the OTHER end of the world to check on rebooking. I make the call to figure out what the university would like me to do. At this point, I figure I need to go back home and try again another day! I am starting to imagine I look like Calamity Jane to my potential employers. Standing in line for 90 minutes, I start to panic slightly. No hotel rooms. The guy on my plane wants me to help him rent a car and drive to the destination. Well, he is carrying a guitar case. Not going anywhere with a stranger-guitarist in businessmen clothing. I know ALL about musicians...;)!

I get my ticket changed, no problem, and the Delta agent is completely understanding, right? No, understanding LIKE A ROBOT! Amazing...they have rhino hides for emotional skin, I swear. As far as they were concerned, not their problem. Need a room? Go to Ann Arbor or Livonia. How do I get there? No idea, you are on your own. Or...well, never mind where I thought he should go get a room.

Somewhere in the chaos, I called my mom & dad. Probably half my extended family lives in the area surrounding Detroit, so I was hoping I could find a bed for a night with family. I would never ask for that favor had there had been a hotel room available - the roads were terrible, schools were closing for the next day, and I was unexpected. Yet, when Mom put the family APB out, my lovely cousin Shaney set into motion a plan for my brief stay and sent me a text message letting me know I simply needed to call.

I can't explain my relief. I love being independent and work well on my own. But in situations where I find myself alone, suddenly like this in a strange place, I am frightened. I quickly realize that my husband is the foundation of my daily strength. When he isn't present, I feel lost emotionally, and in this case physically! So that one text message calmed my fear. I made the call, thanking her, and then called my cousin Robert who provided taxi service to my Aunt Maria's house and back to the airport in the morning. There I found a warm bed, sustenance, and the comforting space of people who will take you in simply because you are family.

This was the serendipitous moment. Now I had my moment of anger and frustration and I snapped a bit at Delta for not even offering a drink coupon for my trouble. But when all is said and done, I live my life at breakneck speed, moved far from my roots, perhaps both emotionally and physically, and may forget to acknowledge the safety net or connection to my entire family at times. To stop for just a moment and appreciate my family roots, to revel in having a safe haven no matter where I am, to walk into someone's home and feel completely at home - how could that not be serendipitous at this time in my life?

I remember my Grandpa Rowe taking long walks with all of us - cousins, aunts, uncles, second cousins - and for some reason when I went to bed I was reminded of these walks, this gathering of relatives. That feeling that we were all special, safe, connected and loved. Mom and Dad - always there, a constant, loving and steady force in my life. But this refers to my expanse of family - the way Shaney sprang into action to make me feel safe, the way Robert greeted me at the airport, moving so much like his dad (Doug, gone too soon) with the same warm smile, the way Maria welcomed me with open arms and a hot cup of coffee. What a wonderful way to fall asleep! What a beautiful legacy this family has and how much I suddenly appreciate the gift that it is. This was not a horrible situation fraught with lost time, but a moment to be savored with what had been found.

I resolve to do a better job of letting this huge family know I love them. That I will spend a bit more time appreciating found pockets of time that allow me to do so. And that serendipity is found in the strangest places...even in Detroit in the middle of a snowstorm.