The day before flying away, I packed my bags for spending Thanksgiving with family in NC. This trip required some alterations in my normal packing routine. (1) I needed to take the few Christmas gifts I have already purchased, as I will not be with this part of the family on Christmas Day. Plus, Kevin, my artistically talented 11 year old grandson, made a ceramic fox, while with me last summer, in an art program. Beautiful fox! But he couldn’t take it home with him. I promised I would bring it as a carry-on at holiday time. I spent an hour finding the appropriate packing materials and case to cradle it safely. (2) This meant I now had three carry-ons: rolling laptop case, duffle bag, and purse. If I split my purse contents between the two other bags, it would work.
The morning of my flight, I received a message from my SIL saying to NOT bring the fox. Mommy did not know where to put one more thing of his prolific creations, especially one as large as this fox. And Mr. Fox made a perfect addition to my mantle menagerie.
I removed the fox from the duffle bag, and stuffed my purse in that bag, maintaining the limit of two carry-ons. My mistake was to not repack everything. I should have repacked my main suitcase into a larger one to hold the Christmas gifts from the duffle bag. Then I would have had only my computer case and purse as carry-ons. Suffice it to say, with things not in their normal place, my brain experienced some discombobulation.
The new express lanes on I-820 propel you to DFW from Fort Worth in 15 minutes, so I arrived at Remote Parking in plenty of time. As the only customer, the two shuttle drivers present were overly attentive and placed my cases on the racks. Upon arrival at the terminal, I took the elevator to my ticket counter. As I punched in my information into the computer, I realized . . . I did not have three bags! My computer case was not among my belongings!!! PANIC!!!
The ticket counter agent told me to return to the Remote Parking drop off downstairs and speak to a driver as they all have intercoms and could locate my case. As I fast tracked, I audibly prayed, “Oh, God! Oh, God! Oh,God! Please!” . . . Miraculously, when a Remote Parking shuttle finally appeared, it was MY driver! He had given my case to a supervisor whom he called and described my location and clothing. He assured me she would soon appear in a gray car with “Remote” on it. Hallelujah! As I trekked to my gate, I found myself audibly mumbling a dated idiom – “Oh, man. Oh, man. Oh, man,” meaning how dumb can I be?
Thankfully, God does answer prayer!
Deciphering Life 