Today I celebrate from a hotel room in Chicago. My oldest daughter is a grad student at University of Chicago. I don't totally get what she is learning at the Harris School of Public Policy but I know it has something to do with using big data to solve problems in our world. Yesterday, she had an outpatient procedure scheduled and as a mom, I thought I should come to give her support. All went well. So I pause to celebrate.
...who knew that at 5am at National Airport there would be a very long line of people trying to fly.
My boarding pass printed quickly (thank you, Expedia, for the email reminder to check in online the night before) and said the plane would begin boarding at 5:45am and leave at 6am. Plenty of time, my novice traveling brain thought. So I stood in the security check line. I mindlessly watched a TSA worker push the button that made an arrow randomly point to the left, to the right, then right again. The right side meant you got to keep your shoes on during the security check and it moved a little faster. At my turn, the arrow pointed left and her finger pointed me to the slower moving corral. 5:21am. I waited patiently thinking it is way too early to be annoyed. I still have time. At 5:51 I slid my laptop back into my carry-on, grabbed my shoes and ran to Gate 16. I boarded and happily sat down in my window seat. Then magically at 6:52am Chicago time, I landed.
Thank you airport workers!
---who knew hospitals are so tech-savvy now
Once my daughter check-in, the nurse handed me a color-coded form with a number on it and pointed to a computer screen. It would show me when #4925 was in Pre-ob (yellow ), surgery ( green ), post-ob ( blue ) and departure (gray). As I sat and watched perky Kelly Ripa and then The View on the TV screen, #4925's color changed. And before I knew it, we were getting into an Uber cab heading to the Hyatt in the Loop.
Thank you hospital staff!
(And Uber! and The Hyatt, too!)
I was in Chicago last weekend packing my daughter up for the long trip back to South Louisiana. I took 2 Ubers while there and they were great! We have fond memories of her time at UofC. I'm glad everything on the verge of being terrible turned toward celebration. I hope your daughter heals quickly.
ReplyDeleteSo glad it all went well, travel & your daughter's procedure. Yes, I've found those early flights are very, very busy. Good to celebrate!
ReplyDeleteYay for everything going well even though there was a little stress. :)
ReplyDeleteIt's wonderful when all things go as planned! Funny how efficiency has hit just about everything.
ReplyDeleteOh boy, I am glad you were able to get on that plane. I am sweating just reading about it. So glad your daughter had a successful procedure and praying for a speedy recovery for her.
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