Matt graduated with honors today, earning not only the highest VCS award for be the student who most embodies the school values, but also the Naturalist Award, only the 6th student in the school's 25 years to receive the award. We are so proud.
Joan paid for one of our first class tickets so Russ could make the journey.
A woman who travels for her job offered us Best Western points for a hotel should we need them.
Four airline staff came off the plane in our Albuquerque mechanical layover (I was just outside the plane trying to get information) to tell me Russ was agitated and needed me.
After missing our connection in Chicago our wheeelchair assistant was so sweet and kind, offering calm, shortcuts and suggestions. He showed us the ADA taxi line which put us in front of at least 50 people.
The taxi had an actual wheelchair ramp with secure tie downs!
A man in line wheeled our luggage cart over to the taxi for us.
Never once in the half hour drive on a 4 lane highway, in the pouring rain, going 75 miles an hour was I afraid.
The desk clerk/manager of the hotel opened the bar and got us a glass of wine at 11pm.
...and Joan followed it all up by canceling all our Burlington plans for us.
It has been stressful, disappointing, emotionally exhausting, logistically challenging; a complete bust. Truly, it is hard to explain how missing Matt’s graduation breaks my heart. Even writing it make me cry. We will have to make do with watching the DVD when it arrives in the mail. We were going to have a little vacation, seeing the Furtsch family, be on a lake, by a glorious harbor and not having the usual daily obligations. Foiled!! Instead we are stranded in a hotel biding our time. But back to those angels... we are safe and cared for. We have a comfortable bed and food. Our reminder to one another when one of us becomes overwhelmed is, 'at least we are not in Turkey (foreign country) and at least our hotel has a restaurant.
Four nights in a hotel and $1000+ dollars later we are back home. Angels continued to follow us and for each disappointment we did have someone step forward with kindness. Through tears I smile.