Today I picked up EQ from the airport. It's been far too long since I last saw him.
Typically I pick him up outside of the terminal doors, but today I arrived a touch earlier than I had expected and my last piece of information from him was that the custom's line was quite long. In a flash I decided to surprise him inside the terminal and I went to park the car.
Of course, finding an actual parking spot took me longer than I had anticipated. As time ticked away, I became anxious that I'd miss EQ inside the terminal. As I jogged into the building and down the escalator to the arrivals level, I still hadn't heard from him and I thought to myself "phew, I made it".
I entered into the arrivals area and my phone dinged at me. Of course it was EQ. I didn't even reach into my pocket for the phone, I simply scanned the arrival area a little harder. I was determined not to miss him! I scanned and scanned as again around the arrivals entrance. Just as I finished the second scan of the room, I saw him quickly heading toward door. He was just about the exit the building!
And so I ran, bouncing around the people in my way. I caught up to him from behind just as he exited the the terminal doors. I put my hand on his shoulder, he turned, dropped his bags and swooped me into his arms.
Now that is an exciting reunion!
We stood like that, in silence, arms wrapped around one another for what seemed like an eternity in a blink of an eye.
Sometimes, the universe is on my side. Today was one of those days. I am thankful I caught him and surprised him as I did.
Moments setting up a last minute surprise, even though tight for time.
Moments connecting "just in time".
Showing posts with label reconnect. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reconnect. Show all posts
Friday, April 18, 2014
Saturday, December 28, 2013
Moments D614: Birds on a Wire
This morning was our last on the ship. Our week of fun in the Caribbean had come to a close.
We rose early and had our final breakfast with Mom & Dad. And before we all knew it, our time was up and we headed in separate directions. Mom and Dad home to Canada, EQ & I off to spend the night in Miami.
At least that was the plan. Until we realized that finding a hotel might be a bit more challenging that we had expected it to be. What we thought would be an easy last minute find, turned out to be an Orange Bowl headache. We actually spent the rest of the morning looking for a hotel room. We stayed on the ship for as long as we could, but that wasn't long enough to search out a hotel room. Miami was sold out of hotel rooms and those left available were outrageously priced.
And so, we had to be flexible. We looked into changing our flight to fly out today. That turned out to be as expensive as the remaining hotel rooms in the city. It's a busy time of year for travellers. Strike one.
We thought we struck lucky when we booked a 5-star hotel on one of those discount sites. Then the first email from the broker site informed us that we would have to wait 24-hours for an actual reservation code. Well. That was helpful. An hour plus later and a phone call to the broker and hotel booked reveals that there is no availability. The hotel is overbooked. Strike two.
EQ complained that travelling with me wasn't the same as travelling without me. Well duh, I suppose it isn't, but I'm no fancy princess. I can roll with it. I actually figured we might end up sleeping at the airport at this point!
Then I started looking a little deeper into the folds of possibilities. Motels. Honestly, they are really a hit or miss thing. Sometimes I've been lucky and found a gem. Other times it was a complete dive. Unfortunately (or in our case fortunately!) not all of them are online with websites and/or listed on the big broker sites which means they don't get the traffic of the bigger hotels. I figured it was worth calling a few.
And so we did. After a lot of apologetic conversations about being booked for the past two months due to the Orange Bowl, we struck gold with a motel very close to little Havana.
It was a stressful morning and afternoon as we fought through the piles (and piles!) of non-available conversations. Arriving at the motel was a relief. EQ called it a "hooker-hotel". It really wasn't too far off that, but at least it was clean and close to the airport. From my perspective it was quaint, and obviously not a high class place. It was also outrageously priced for what they offered, but it under the circumstances, it was a room and a bed for the night. It would certainly do the trick.
And then it rained. It poured actually. I spent the afternoon in this hooker hotel catching up on emails as EQ took a calming bath. It was good to catch up and reconnect with my world back home. It was strange to be disconnected for a week.
And then it was time for our dinner date with EQ's business partner; he offered to take us out for dinner. It was my first time meeting EQ's business partner. What an incredible soul! Not that I'm surprised, knowing that EQ respects and trusts him without falter.
Phew - all this to bring you around to today's moment. It felt necessary to share the high stress of today because today's moment presented the exact opposite of the rest of the day. The moment happened when EQ & I were on our way to dinner with his business partner who lives in the area. I sat in the back seat of the car so that EQ and his partner could catch up - it's been months since they last saw one another. It allowed me to be more focused on the surroundings flying past as I partially listened to their conversation.
The rains had stopped and the clouds had parted. It was dusk as we drove into little Havana to the well known Cuban restaurant for dinner. And there they were:
Tons and tons of black birds sitting on the wires above the street happily chirping and enjoying the last of the day, fresh from the rain. I enjoyed their song for the fleeting moment that I was beneath them.
I smiled and enjoyed this passing moment. As we drove on, I reflected back over our stressful day and how we conquered it. (maybe not in style, but we conquered none-the-less!) Now with the rain behind us, we were out celebrating with a delightful tour of the area and were about to feed ourselves with delightful local Cuban flavours. I found myself greatly enjoying those last moments of our day, much like those black birds sitting and singing high above the street.
Given our roller coaster day, I was reminded that storms will come and go and when they do pass, life around dries and the birds come to sing once again. Much like life. Storms in life will pass and when they do and things settle down, those around you sing once again. My heart was singing once again.
I love when that happens.
Moments pushing through the stressful moments of life.
Moments celebrating the song around you.
We rose early and had our final breakfast with Mom & Dad. And before we all knew it, our time was up and we headed in separate directions. Mom and Dad home to Canada, EQ & I off to spend the night in Miami.
At least that was the plan. Until we realized that finding a hotel might be a bit more challenging that we had expected it to be. What we thought would be an easy last minute find, turned out to be an Orange Bowl headache. We actually spent the rest of the morning looking for a hotel room. We stayed on the ship for as long as we could, but that wasn't long enough to search out a hotel room. Miami was sold out of hotel rooms and those left available were outrageously priced.
And so, we had to be flexible. We looked into changing our flight to fly out today. That turned out to be as expensive as the remaining hotel rooms in the city. It's a busy time of year for travellers. Strike one.
We thought we struck lucky when we booked a 5-star hotel on one of those discount sites. Then the first email from the broker site informed us that we would have to wait 24-hours for an actual reservation code. Well. That was helpful. An hour plus later and a phone call to the broker and hotel booked reveals that there is no availability. The hotel is overbooked. Strike two.
EQ complained that travelling with me wasn't the same as travelling without me. Well duh, I suppose it isn't, but I'm no fancy princess. I can roll with it. I actually figured we might end up sleeping at the airport at this point!
Then I started looking a little deeper into the folds of possibilities. Motels. Honestly, they are really a hit or miss thing. Sometimes I've been lucky and found a gem. Other times it was a complete dive. Unfortunately (or in our case fortunately!) not all of them are online with websites and/or listed on the big broker sites which means they don't get the traffic of the bigger hotels. I figured it was worth calling a few.
And so we did. After a lot of apologetic conversations about being booked for the past two months due to the Orange Bowl, we struck gold with a motel very close to little Havana.
It was a stressful morning and afternoon as we fought through the piles (and piles!) of non-available conversations. Arriving at the motel was a relief. EQ called it a "hooker-hotel". It really wasn't too far off that, but at least it was clean and close to the airport. From my perspective it was quaint, and obviously not a high class place. It was also outrageously priced for what they offered, but it under the circumstances, it was a room and a bed for the night. It would certainly do the trick.
And then it rained. It poured actually. I spent the afternoon in this hooker hotel catching up on emails as EQ took a calming bath. It was good to catch up and reconnect with my world back home. It was strange to be disconnected for a week.
And then it was time for our dinner date with EQ's business partner; he offered to take us out for dinner. It was my first time meeting EQ's business partner. What an incredible soul! Not that I'm surprised, knowing that EQ respects and trusts him without falter.
Phew - all this to bring you around to today's moment. It felt necessary to share the high stress of today because today's moment presented the exact opposite of the rest of the day. The moment happened when EQ & I were on our way to dinner with his business partner who lives in the area. I sat in the back seat of the car so that EQ and his partner could catch up - it's been months since they last saw one another. It allowed me to be more focused on the surroundings flying past as I partially listened to their conversation.
The rains had stopped and the clouds had parted. It was dusk as we drove into little Havana to the well known Cuban restaurant for dinner. And there they were:
Tons and tons of black birds sitting on the wires above the street happily chirping and enjoying the last of the day, fresh from the rain. I enjoyed their song for the fleeting moment that I was beneath them.
I smiled and enjoyed this passing moment. As we drove on, I reflected back over our stressful day and how we conquered it. (maybe not in style, but we conquered none-the-less!) Now with the rain behind us, we were out celebrating with a delightful tour of the area and were about to feed ourselves with delightful local Cuban flavours. I found myself greatly enjoying those last moments of our day, much like those black birds sitting and singing high above the street.
Given our roller coaster day, I was reminded that storms will come and go and when they do pass, life around dries and the birds come to sing once again. Much like life. Storms in life will pass and when they do and things settle down, those around you sing once again. My heart was singing once again.
I love when that happens.
Moments pushing through the stressful moments of life.
Moments celebrating the song around you.
Monday, August 26, 2013
Moments D490: Support and Love
Today I met up with a special co-worker that recently left the company for lunch. She and I worked together for nearly 12 years. This lovely woman was always very prim and proper in the office, but once you got her outside the office walls, her silly side, her funny side, and her sarcastic side radiated through.
Though she's only been gone a couple of months, I've missed her terribly. She and I worked so well and so easily together. She was like an extension of my brain! Top that off with the fact that she is incredibly funny and I was very happy to be reconnecting with her for lunch.
Unexpectedly, while at lunch my ex-coworker, offered me $50 to donate towards my coming Tough Mudder adventure in September. Tough Mudder is known for supporting Wounded Warrior Project. Part of the reason I jumped on board, was this fact. Tough Mudder has proudly raised over $5 million to support thousands of warriors returning from the battlefield. I wanted to be a part of that. (My grandfather was a vet. This is my small way of thanking him and all those that fight for our freedoms.)
What an incredible moment that was as we discussed the obstacle course and why I was running it. (Yes, it is a hardcore 10-12 mile obstacle courses designed by British Special Forces, with, apparently, some of the toughest obstacles courses out there!)
And then, she bought me lunch and sent me back to the office with treats for the rest of the department. Yes, I think she misses some of us!
A moment to remind me that my stamina, mental grit, camaraderie and all around strength will be tested to the limit with my team mates.
Most importantly, this moment, is dedicated to our warriors. To supporting those that fight for our freedoms.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Moments D265: Diving In
Tonight I picked up my car (a day earlier than expected) and then met up with an ex-staff member of mine for dinner. I often thing of this creative soul fondly. He’s a brilliant artist (music, painting, drawing, graphic design) and my company was lucky to have had his inspiring thoughts around us for a long as we did.
He holds a special spot in my heart. Not only because of his brilliance and our shared perspective on life, but because he was the first to ever introduce me to anyone as his boss. That day is firmly etched in my brain.
A group of us from work had gone to see his band play. He introduced me to his girlfriend and his band mates. I was flattered and uncomfortable all at the same time as my own role with our company had only recently shifted. It was strange to be considered as anyone’s boss.
That was ages ago.
Now, he’s moved up the ladder with his skill set and his ambition takes him back to school for graduate studies. His eagerness to learn and his drive for perfection has never been lost on me. I was always proud of him even when he doubted (and still does) himself.
I was barely in the restaurant for 2 minutes and we literally dove into life and deep questions. I think my first question was “Are you done with your application?” Good! ”How are you and how’s your girlfriend.” And we were off and running. It’s been a long time since we’ve had an opportunity to speak to each other without being rushed. Before either of us knew, hours had passed.
We managed to touch upon the depth of relationships. True love versus contentment. Defining happiness (as if we really could!) The idea of wanting to be alone, but also wanting someone to push through that stubbornness in times of need to just hold you when you need it. (But don’t ever tell us it will be “okay”, when you don’t know it will be.)
We spoke of career paths and path changing decisions in life and then we dove in deeper and spoke of Christopher Hitchens and mortality and family. Then we laughed and realized just how deep we had gone!
Sometimes there are people in your life that you may not see for months, possibly years at a time. But when you reconnect, it’s like you’ve never parted. This creative soul is one of the few that fall into that world for me. Never a moment of pause, never grasping for conversation, just an ebb and flow of information shared.
As much as I know I’ve helped to influence this once green artist and career man, I hope he realizes just how much his perspective on life has influenced me as well. We may be decades apart in age, and lifetimes apart in experience, but we have this common perspective on life. It’s interesting and something that inspires both ways.
So today’s moment: Dive in. Why not? Life is short not to ask the deep questions.
He holds a special spot in my heart. Not only because of his brilliance and our shared perspective on life, but because he was the first to ever introduce me to anyone as his boss. That day is firmly etched in my brain.
A group of us from work had gone to see his band play. He introduced me to his girlfriend and his band mates. I was flattered and uncomfortable all at the same time as my own role with our company had only recently shifted. It was strange to be considered as anyone’s boss.
That was ages ago.
Now, he’s moved up the ladder with his skill set and his ambition takes him back to school for graduate studies. His eagerness to learn and his drive for perfection has never been lost on me. I was always proud of him even when he doubted (and still does) himself.
I was barely in the restaurant for 2 minutes and we literally dove into life and deep questions. I think my first question was “Are you done with your application?” Good! ”How are you and how’s your girlfriend.” And we were off and running. It’s been a long time since we’ve had an opportunity to speak to each other without being rushed. Before either of us knew, hours had passed.
We managed to touch upon the depth of relationships. True love versus contentment. Defining happiness (as if we really could!) The idea of wanting to be alone, but also wanting someone to push through that stubbornness in times of need to just hold you when you need it. (But don’t ever tell us it will be “okay”, when you don’t know it will be.)
We spoke of career paths and path changing decisions in life and then we dove in deeper and spoke of Christopher Hitchens and mortality and family. Then we laughed and realized just how deep we had gone!
Sometimes there are people in your life that you may not see for months, possibly years at a time. But when you reconnect, it’s like you’ve never parted. This creative soul is one of the few that fall into that world for me. Never a moment of pause, never grasping for conversation, just an ebb and flow of information shared.
As much as I know I’ve helped to influence this once green artist and career man, I hope he realizes just how much his perspective on life has influenced me as well. We may be decades apart in age, and lifetimes apart in experience, but we have this common perspective on life. It’s interesting and something that inspires both ways.
So today’s moment: Dive in. Why not? Life is short not to ask the deep questions.
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