Off to Pennsylvania for In-laws' 60th Anniversary

This morning we're headed off to Pennsylvania to celebrate my in-laws' 60th anniversary.

At first we weren't going to make this trip. They're not making a big fuss of the celebration, just having a luncheon at their house of worship after morning services. "You don't have to come," MIL told us. "We'll see you a few weeks later at Thanksgiving anyway."

That logic— not to go— seemed reasonable. Hawk accepted it. I didn't quite. So while Hawk figured we wouldn't go, I started quietly booking flights anyway. The tickets were refundable so there was no downside.

Why was I quietly making plans to go anyway, even though MIL told us she didn't expect us to come? Because a 60th anniversary is a big thing. Most people don't get that far. And I remembered my parable of the red bowl. 60 is a big number, and there may not be a 61. My grandparents in the parable didn't even make it to their 40th anniversary. Treasure the time you have with your elders.

I shared this thinking with Hawk last week. "I'll call mom and see if she wants us to come," Hawk suggested.

Hawk called on the phone. "So, Mom, with you and Dad's anniversary next week, we were thinking—"

That's as far as Hawk got. Her mother had already broken down in tears on the phone. Tears of joy.

We finished booking our tickets after that call, and now we're off to the east coast.

Up Early, Coast to Coast. Running in Chicago.

PA Anniversary Trip Journal #1
MDW Airport - Thu, 7 Nov 2024, 3:00pm

Hawk and I got up early this morning to travel coast-to-coast, to Pennsylvania to celebrate her parents' 60th anniversary. We packed our bags last night so we could leave quickly today. Dawn was only beginning to break when we were already out of the house and walking to meet our driver outside the gate.

As we rode to the airport the day's schedule was off to a good start. We'd been able to wake up, shower and dress, and leave home promptly. There were no problems with the driver. The inbound flight for our aircraft had departed on time. There was no reason to expect delay. But then....



The delays started as we neared boarding time. Our aircraft had arrived on schedule, but our crew were arriving on a different flight and they were delayed at least 10-15 minutes. The airline asked the inbound crew to begin our boarding, which was good because our actual crew ended up more like 40 minutes late. Even so, our boarding completed 10-15 minutes late. Then we sat parked at the gate until 35 minutes late. The pilot explained that we had to wait for more fuel. Uh, why wasn't "gas up the plane" the first thing the ground crew did? Instead it was like, "Okay folks, we're ready for an on-time depar— oh, no, the gas gauge is on E!"

Being delayed— "Taking the D," as flight crews call it— in San Jose put pressure on our connection at MDW. And our delay grew even longer as the pilot routed around rough air near Denver. The 1h10m connection time we'd carefully chosen (other flight options had precariously short connections like 40 minutes) was reduced to a mere 35 minutes when we landed.

Whenever one flight is delayed I always check if my connecting flight is delayed, too. Delays tend to propagate systemwide. And 90% of the 20-ish flights I've flown with Southwest in the past year have been delayed. Well, wouldn't you know it— our connecting flight today was on time. The quick lunch on the ground I'd planned to have in Chicago disappeared as we sprinted to our next gate to make the boarding call. I guess instead of Panda Express ll be eating that half a protein bar I tucked in my bag.