Some might say it was a coincidence but I’ve come to believe everything happens for a reason.
I met a very interesting woman this week and it never would have happened if we didn’t have to reschedule.
My grandson, Liam, spent a couple weeks with Grammy and Grampy again this summer. As I mentioned last week, the whole family came up for my other grandson, Carson’s, first birthday and baptism. Liam’s mom and dad flew back home June 30th but Liam stayed with us. I took him home to Texas Monday.
We flew out of Providence Monday morning at 10:30 a.m. We were supposed to fly to Nashville, then Houston, and then Corpus Christi. (There’s no easy way to get to Corpus. Trust me, I’ve looked.)
When we got to Nashville our flight to Houston was cancelled. Not delayed, cancelled. I got the text and actually said out loud, “Great! What do I do now?” As we got in a very long line at the ticket agent desk, I received an email saying we had been booked on a flight to St. Louis where we would catch another flight to Houston and then carry on to Corpus Christi. I had ten minutes to get from C25 to D8. I’m happy to say that we made it, with some help, so off we went.
After a two hour layover in St. Louis, Liam and I went to Houston where we had a three hour layover before we finally boarded our final flight to Corpus Christi.
My grandson is six years old. Thank God he’s a wonderful traveler. Probably because he’s been traveling since he was three months old. On the plane he watched movies on his tablet. In the airports we talked, laughed, played games and ate. I’m afraid to check my Visa to see how much we spent on snacks.
Liam especially had fun pushing Grampy in his wheelchair.
Our final flight left Houston around midnight. Thankfully that’s a short flight. My boarding pass said it would be an hour but it’s never that long.
Liam finally fell asleep.
He had the window seat and I was in the middle. The woman who sat next to me said hello and we started to talk.
If you know me you know that I enjoy talking to people and learning their stories, however….. it was after midnight. I had been traveling since 10:30 in the morning. Part of me wanted to just close my eyes and open them when we landed.
As we talked I found out that she had a stroke about a year-and-a-half ago. I told her my stroke was 10 years ago and she seemed to have so many questions. I shared with her some of my struggles during recovery and some of the issues I still have. More than once her reply was, “Me too!”
I got the sense that she really needed that conversation. It wasn’t so much that I gave her answers to her questions but maybe I validated some of her feelings. Sometimes it just helps to know you’re not alone. Her husband is a big help to her and my wife has been a tremendous help to me, but she nailed it when she said, “They’re a big help but they really can’t understand what we’re going through.”
This is so true.
There’s fear, frustration, anger and finally acceptance. However, there are still days where you miss the old you. There’s a new normal. We never asked for it but it is what it is.
So, coincidence? You can believe whatever you want but I think that’s exactly where I was supposed to be Monday night/Tuesday morning.
I read something recently that relates.
“Instead of asking, ‘Why am I here?’ perhaps we should ask, ‘Who needs me here?’ Sometimes God doesn’t place us where we want to be; he places us where someone else needs us to be.”
That bed felt great when I finally pulled the covers up at almost two in the morning. Would I want to do it that way again? Uh, no. But I’m glad it all worked out.
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