My family was at church the Sunday before Christmas Eve and our pastor shared an analogy of The Grinch in comparison to true joy. Just to clarify, the Grinch was not at all joyful for the most part but the morning after stealing all the toys and good eats, the Grinch heard down in the valley the true spirit of Christmas, the music, the love, the joy all had within and even the the one with no heart suddenly felt joy in his. We all know the story. This was shared at our church an hour before my family and I would witness and experience true joy.
How, you ask? Well, rewind two and a half years, back to the summer of 2016, our family had a fantastic vacation in Georgia that began with a large family wedding followed by several days with good friends that had recently moved from South Dakota to Peachtree City, Georgia. Four daughters between theirs and ours and us four adults enjoyed sunshine, swimming, good food and all the local flair that we were able to experience with our friends who are now new locals to the area. Such fun, true joy. After over a week we were headed home, back to reality, but ready for it indeed. All was going smoothly until our layover in Chicago, where O'Hare had basically shut down for no apparent reason.
Our layover of two hours turned into four, five, and beyond. People were frustrated and misinformed, particularly the United employees whose role was to be customer serving, which exacerbated the whole ordeal. Eric waited in a line with no end as more hours passed. We were herded to one gate and then told to go to another, still with no insight as to why we had no initial flight in the first place. Our family, in addition to the entire O'Hare airport, was in wait. And so we sat and I happened to sit down next to an elderly woman who seemed to be traveling alone.
I asked where she was headed and to my surprise, her destination was ours, Sioux Falls, SD. She proceeded to tell me she was on her way home from visiting family in Germany and traveling alone, her husband had passed several years ago. I explained our scenario and told her whatever Eric found out we would keep her informed and close by. All I could think was how afraid my mom be under similar circumstances, who turns out to be almost twenty years younger than our new friend, Carol.
Fast forward an hour or so and our family had secured one of the last large rental suburbans to be had in the metro of Chicago due to fire and weather, which is why all flights were cancelled. In this same hour I had witnessed the United help desk tell Carol, in the most belittling and rude tone, "Just sit down and be quiet, we will tell you what's going on when we know what's going on." While I am a fairly laid back individual but in my book of morals this gal had gone way past any form of acceptable in her treatment of Carol. I stood up, shared my thoughts with United, and told Carol we were going to get her home. I asked if she'd want to hop a ride with us from Chicago since she lived in Luverne, MN, which was right on our way home and without any regret, she said she'd love to join our journey!
About thirty minutes later we were walking out of the rental office and literally ran into a friend I used to work with, Kathy, and a coworker of hers, also stranded on their way home from a meeting and of course, we asked them to join the party. And so, began our eight hour road trip home. Lots of conversation, naps, and bathroom breaks, and we safely delivered all to their homes in the middle of the night that summer of 2016. Little did I know in our exhaustion, hunger, and need to finally feel at home would spark joy that would continue to burn into this holiday season.
This past Thursday before Christmas, with so little time and so much to do, Eric received a call from Carol. I had intended to get Carol's address when we dropped her off at 3AM but failed to and in the following weeks before school started I wanted to follow up with her, make sure she was okay, but, undeniably, time just got away from me. It got away from all of us. Well, everyone but Carol. She had been looking for us since we dropped her off and finally, over two years later, she and Eric were chatting on the phone like old friends and invited us to her 90th birthday party this Sunday, the day before Christmas Eve. And of course, we helped her celebrate!
And this is our Christmas story for so many reasons. Coincidence is not a thing in my world, Carol and I didn't accidentally sit next to each other at O'Hare; kindness is intentional and I can assure you my family and Carol's felt a great deal more joy than the inadequate customer service reps that work at United in Chicago; and the joy at Carol's birthday party could be felt in my family's soul, among perfect strangers, and these are experiences I pray my daughters carry into their adult lives and memories I will seek to feel joy from when my moments may feel less than joyful.
I'm eager for the stories 2019 will bring and I'm proud to have a new authentic Facebook friend, Carol. Thank you, Carol, for reminding me and my family the true joy and spirit of Christmas.
