sheesh....

Tuesday, November tenth was quite the day, lemme tell ya!  I thought I was going to get my volunteer work done early and then be able to get all my prep work done for the great Girl Scout cake decorating extravaganza today, but not to be.

I do volunteer work giving seniors rides places they need to go, doctor's appointments mostly, but sometimes to the gym or church.

One couple I drive to the gym give directions on where to go at the same time, just talking louder to make themselves heard over their spouse.  The fact that I've driven them multiple times and know exactly how to get there has nothing to do with their actions.

I'll admit I always ask where I'm supposed to turn because it makes me laugh to listen to them "Here, turn here.  No no!  where the blue car is, turn down there!  Oh, no you turned too soon!  Here is right!" 

Yesterday, I signed up to give a woman a ride to the airport.  I was given her flight time, 1:30 in the afternoon, and strongly advised to pick her up *early* since she's slow moving.  I called the client in the morning to tell her when I'd be picking her up but she wanted me to come pick her up at 11 o'clock.  I said I could do that and went about my business of doing dishes and icing the cake.

When I got to her home at 11 o'clock on the dot, she wasn't ready.  As a matter of fact, she was still packing.  After 45 minutes of helping her get organized, I realized that when they said slow moving they didn't mean she walked with a walker, they meant she just wasn't ready when you came to pick her up and you needed the extra cushion of time.

I would ask her what else she needed to do and she would tell me, after which, I would ask what about after that.  That's all, she assured me, that task and then we'll hit the road.  Um, not so much.  Then she'd think of something else.  And something else.  And something else.

Finally, finally, I got her, her overweight suitcase and three carry-on bags (all stuffed to the gills) into the car.

I started up The Bluebell, started to roll and she said  "Can we go to the post office?"

Sure. Let's go to the post office, I'd help her pick up her mail and then we'd dash down to the airport.  No, she needed to complete her vacation hold order.  I circled the parking lot with one eye on the clock waiting for her to come out.

I got the car on the highway at five minutes after noon and drove like a bat out of hell and got to the airport in 20 minutes.  Then I had to drop her off, get her wheelchair service there, make sure her bag wasn't overweight, but it was, by eight pounds.

I flashed the curbside check-in guys when I knelt down to open up her suitcase to yank stuff out and re-pack in it her already really full carry-on bags.  I'm sure this is why the curb-side guy let the extra three pounds go so maybe it was a good think I wore a short dress and not pants, or maybe it's that I did the cross-my-arms-under-my-boobs-lean-forward trick when I talked to them.  Either way, her bag got checked in, her wheelchair arrived, her carry-on bags were piled into her lap and she was taken into the airport with a full 40 minutes before her flight left!

All I could think about was a friend of mine from high school who now works as an airline representative at the boarding gate at LAX and wonder what he'd say about this situation.

The rest of my day/evening was filled with picking up children, dropping children off at a neighbor's house, cleaning Zoe's room, baking another layer for the cake, frosting, coloring fondant and doing laundry.

But all that was nothing compared to getting my new friend to the airport.  And, I know I'm officially insane because I scheduled myself to pick her up next week.

Amanda's beauty tip of the day:  Clenching your teeth can cause tension headaches and an ugly look on your face.  Consciously, open your mouth and relax your jaw to help the rest of your face relax, bringing back the pretty softness.