I turned in my final grades for the trimester on Monday, and um....let's just say that I'm surviving and healing from my first angry parent attack. I grew up in a family of teachers, and I heard horror stories about the untamable angry parent. I thought "Oh blah blah blah just deal with it!"
Yeah, right. You can't just "deal" with something that haunts you. You always feel nervous in your stomach. You cry regularly. You question your desire and qualifications to teach. According to Mom (who's taught for nearly 30 years)....."you will quickly grow a tough skin." Tough skin?! I'm a ginger. I'm a physical ginger. And I'm a teacher ginger. That makes no sense. But see, gingers can't handle bad things happening to our skin...like I'm sensitive to heat and cold more than most people...and thus, I am a teacher ginger too....get it?! I lack tough skin!
But no matter what Angry Padre (padre=parent in Spanish) does to me....I still had a conference to look forward to! Yep, the school was sending their newbie teacher to the American Council for Teaching Foreign Language World Expo 2013 in Orlando!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
On Thursday, I eagerly awaited my flight with Silver Airways. The flight would take off at 2. I got there an hour and a half early. I sat at Terminal A-4 and made friends with my fellow passengers. They were probably the coolest part of my day. I met everyone from a precious seamstress grandma in her 70's who proudly "did NOT own a computer!" to a young man from Alaska who had been serving a three year jail term in Tallahassee, was just released THAT day and discussed with me the unknown world of jail and the hopes he had for his life as a free man.
Our flight was delayed until 3:30, so I snagged a sketchy airport sandwich at the cafeteria.
I came back. Our flight was THEN pushed back to an "unknown hour" due to a "maintenance issue."
I got antsy. I sat and texted my dear fiancé Andy. I called a friend. I even gave in and spent $4 on a rip-off Starbucks drink. By this point, it was 6 PM...and after nearly six hours of being trapped in a terminal......I had to pottyyyyyy.
When I came back from the bano, Precious Grandma told me "Our flight has been cancelled."
CANCELLED?!?!
We all stormed the Silver Airways ticket counter. The best they could for me was to put me up in Days Inn that night, give me a meal voucher, and send me on another flight to Orlando that would get there....at 2 PM. And the Expo started at 8 AM. By the time I'd take a taxi from the airport, get checked in, and get to the conference, it would have been over for that day.
I sadly called my principal, who is honestly one of the nicest and smartest guys I've ever met. We looked up other airlines tickets together, but nothing was really available for Friday. Since we didn't want to take another chance with this suspicious airline....we decided to get a refund for my flight and hotel and cancel the conference.
He definitely made the right call-and even told me to not come into school on Friday since we already had a sub lined up and I needed to rest. But that didn't change how hungry, tired, angry and disappointed I felt Thursday night. That disappointment stuck with me Friday and is still with me now as I just saw some Facebook pictures of some colleagues who went to the Expo.
And there are still issues to be resolved with Angry Padre.......
********************************************************************************
Now you're wondering how this related to marriage/engagement.
Well here's my thing. So many times when we're single, we think about how much better our life will be when we have someone.
But you still have the Angry Padre's in your life.
Your flights will still get cancelled after being stranded in an airport for six hours...
And you will miss that conference you were nerding out about.
Life's frustrations stay the same. You will still fall. But the difference? You have someone there to help you up.
After the Angry Padre mess began, Andy cheered me up. He gave me a shoulder to cry on, encouraging words, prayer, and even took me on a date night for Mexican food! That's all I need right there!
When my flight was cancelled, Andy rushed to the airport to help me figure out what to do next. He then took me home and listened to me vent and cry...after we made a stop for Chinese take-out. And to make up for the conference? Guess who is leaving the football game early to take me to see Catching Fire so I still get to do something cool this weekend?!
Having someone in your life doesn't change life, but two people change the way you handle life. They don't change the trail of the bad of event train, but they can give you the strength to handle the blow. Especially if they are as awesome as Andy!
"Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. 10 If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. 11 Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? 12 A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer." Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 a
No comments:
Post a Comment