…and the saga continues….

Finally found a carpeted area to sleep around 1 a.m.  Updated the blog with my rant about Delta.  Kind of slept.  A little achy.

The end of the last post I tried to B POSITIVE by remembering what Melissa always said…No matter how bad you have it, there is always someone who would love to be in your shoes.  That was about the time the young woman with the baby walked by, trying to get the baby to sleep. On the floor.

Woke up this morning and a young woman was sitting across from me.  We made eye contact and I said "This is crazy."

She asked where we were traveling from and to.  Said we had a two hour delay, then missed our connection.  She is on her way to Canada from South Africa.  She had a 17 hour delay.  Twice.  Her flight  from South Africa had to make an emergency stop in San Juan due to an emergency medical issue.  (and I'm complaining about a two hour delay…ok, add the time in the airport, it's a little more than that)…

As soon as she said she had a 17 hour delay, I thought of Melissa.  Just happen to have a few of Melissa's cards so I gave her one, and of course told her about Melissa.

She was in South Africa to visit her boyfriend.  Her boyfriend's sister died two years ago, suddenly. She was his only sibling.  We had a long discussion about the loss of a child, how his parents are dealing with it, how he is dealing with it, how it is affecting her.  Interesting conversation for 4:30 in the morning.  Of course I shared my name too and asked her to share my name with her boyfriends mom.  Her name is Aliki.  Just like the children's author.  Beautiful young woman.

God (and Melissa) seems to put me in the path of people who have walked my path…or in this case, in the path of someone who could use the perspective of another parent who has lost a child.  I hope I helped her understand why her boyfriends parents talk about their daughter all the time…even after two years.  I told her it's been six years since Melissa died, and I am trying to focus on her life, not her death.  And of course I will talk about Melissa whenever I get the chance.

Made another friend this morning.  That's a good way to start this new day.

Now on to the next challenge.  Convincing my dad to agree to assisted living.

More later.