Yesterday, I was on a flight from London, England to Calgary, Canada.

The whole experience of flying is interesting.

One minute it’s high intensity (empty your pockets, get rid of that water, take your shoes off…) and then it’s go sit and wait… and wait… and wait…

Or… if you’re like some… perhaps run… run… run… because you fell asleep, had one too many cocktails, or were waiting at a wrong gate and now they’re paging you that the frikken plane is gonna leave without you.

Sigh…

It’s definitely a hurry up and do nothing sort of activity.

Once you’re through security, the boarding, and the trying to shove a huge suitcase into a tiny, tiny overhead bin… oops… then, and only then, can you strap yourself in and get ready for take-off.

I find flight behavior a bit like elevator etiquette in that there are nods and acknowledgments but once in flight, the earbuds are in and most people want to be left to their tiny-itty-bitty airplane real estate and to do their own thing.

Me, I like to watch TV to pass the time and the mindless games are usually fun too, but once I start nodding off and giving myself whiplash, I know it’s time to put on the eye mask and check out for a while.

I find it’s the older people who like to chat. Sometimes I’m okay with it, but while flying I’m happy to be left alone in my little world.

On this recent long flight, we were about three quarters into the flight when the older gentleman next to me started telling me about this granddaughter.

SIDE NOTE: I had to remove my earbuds and pause the show I was watching. He just started talking to me out of the blue…

“She’s thirteen,” he said to me. “I’m gonna drive to see her as soon as we land…”

(I found out that he and his wife lived near Regina, Saskatchewan and had to make a connecting flight… They wouldn’t get home any before 10 pm– which was about the same for me except my transfer was headed west.)

He was emotional. Tears welled in his eyes and I waited.

He told me that he and his wife had just completed an extended cruise around the UK. They’d been gone for over three weeks. They’d had a wonderful time until two nights ago they’d received a phone call saying their granddaughter was admitted to the hospital with appendicitis. They operated and though all went well, the only thing she wanted was her Grandpa…

“We talked about flying home early,” he said, ” but they talked us out of it. I just want to see her so bad. I’m not gonna wait until tomorrow…”

I listened and he smiled. I went back to my show, as did he.

As I think about it today, I have no doubt that he drove the one hour drive to see his granddaughter.

In my mind I can see the reunion and the specialness of the relationship. They’d have hugged and probably cried… then settled in to tell each other about their recent adventures and mishaps.

That 13 year old knows how much her Grandpa means to her and vice versa, but what’s beyond extraordinary is that they actually live it while they can.

Moments and life are fleeting. Live them.

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