So Much for Rest & Relaxation....

One thing that students may not realize is that their teachers are just as excited for the summer break as their students... if not more! Miss Stewart is a good friend of mine who taught third grade last year down the hall from me. One day near the end of the school year our students had all been particularly evil and we met in my classroom after school to eat chocolate and vent about the naughty little darlings. On a whim we decided that the cure to our teaching woes would be to book a trip to sunny San Diego with a couple of friends. So we did. Scheduled departure date: last day of school as soon as all the cute little stinkers are out the door. (Let me pause to give a shout out to Marcie for driving us to the airport!)

However, this trip that was meant to rest and relax me was more of a nightmare than any other I've experienced. I woke up the last day of school with a throat so sore I could barely swallow and a pounding headache that made me feel like hurting someone everytime they talked to me. My poor friends spent the better part of the trip babying me, going to the store for medicine, taking turns giving me back massages, and offering up compliments to brighten my mood.:) Finally, the last day of the trip arrived! I couldn't wait to get home to a doctor and then to my bed to stay indefinitely... or at least until I felt better. We dropped the rental car off, took the shuttle to the airport and headed to Delta's desk to check our bags. When we arrived, we were surprised to see that NO ONE was at the desk. We waited for a few minutes only to be greeted by a robotic, cold-hearted Delta employee. "You're too late," she told us. We argued that we were there in plenty of time to check our bags according to the many posted signs indicating arrival time. She refused to let us check our bags despite the sky cap who was standing near, ready and willing to take our bags to the plane. We sent the boys on ahead to the plane because their bags were small enough to be carried on. Apparently men don't have the genetic defects that cause you to involuntarily over-pack despite your better judgement. Miss Stewart and I were left behind rebooking our flight for 6:00 the next morning. The heartless employee began to explain the hundred dollar fee that my friend and I would each be charged for changing our flights until.... I pulled out all the stops.... I burst into tears! Anyone who knows me knows I'm not much of a crier, especially in public. But if there was ever a situation worthy of tears, this was it. Once the Delta robot saw how upset I was she retracted the fee from our accounts.

After that was taken care of, my friend and I began our hunt for a non-scarey, nearby hotel to sleep at. But our search was in vain. The only hotel with an opening that was nearby was some hostile style building which we'd have to take the city bus to get to. I've never been on a city bus and I never plan to.... yes, I'm a transportation snob. So we spent the night in a corner of the 24 hour Mc Donald's huddled up on the only bench in the airport that didn't have arm rests, right next to the dumpsters and tables with gum from 1973 stuck underneath them. Longest night of my life! But now I'm home in my bed and awaiting for the moment when enough time has passed that I can look back and laugh at that experience. Maybe next year....