The Flight: "Oh please, not the cat!!"

"Oh please, not the cat!!" The thought screamed through my head as I politely smiled at the lady who sat by me at the gate for our flight from Detroit to D.C. For those of you who aren't aware, I am super allergic to cats, like, I sneezed just typing that word. All I could think was, "Dear Jesus, I know you are good, and I want to believe that right now, but you can't let the cat lady sit by me."   They called sky priority boarding, which was me because I paid the $25 for the Delta Comfort+ upgrade which I will talk more about later, but I rose from my seat next to the small carrier of cat dandruff and made my way on the plane. I sat there planning how I would nicely ask to move, and then giving myself a pep talk about getting a little more firm in my stance if they said no. Then, I waited. Here, kitty kitty kitty. 

She turned the corner with fluffy in hand and I tensed but tried to keep my face calm. She drew close, I watched her eyes as they looked at the number above my seat and then..... released my breath I didn't know I was holding as I saw them skim past as she walked farther and farther back. My small passover moment. Praise Him!

Essentials: caffeine, hat to cover the crazy travel hair & a
large enough purse to get a few more things on as "carry-on times"
 but not so large that the whole plane rolls their
eyes at you (just a few minimalist flyers).

So let me back up a little. The first leg of the trip began in the Tulsa airport. I had checked in online and only had carry-ons but still felt the need to go to the Delta check-in desk just so I could have someone tell me I'm good to go. I'm a big fan of affirmation. 

I wheeled on over to security and made it through to my gate in 6 minutes. I do love Tulsa. When I fly out of TUL I get a moment to be like, "oh yeah this is how flying works." 

We boarded the plane, or should I say clown car, on time and began our two hour trip to Detroit. This 

was the type of plane that if cat lady was on board I would have just asked to sit shotgun up front with the pilot,because I could have poked all 50 passengers from my seat (if such a thing was not weird and totally unacceptable). (Also probably unacceptable is yelling, "shotgun" on an airplane.) 

Anyway, I did have a great conversation with a man named Tom. We talked about his wife and four children, my family and trips, our cities (Detroit and Tulsa) and Jesus. When on the topic of learning patience, Tom grew rather serious and said to me, "You know, life just gets harder as you get older. It's a fact. There's a culmination of so many past experiences that it just happens, but what gets easier is learning to handle it." I can't help but think he's right. Faith and trust, our greatest tools in dealing with life, are sharpened through the practice of them, and a lot of time those moments of practice come through the aches and pains of life. Thanks, Tom.

Check out the extra leg room.

Now back on the subject of the Delta Comfort upgrade. If you have 25 extra bucks laying around, do it. Don't think just upgrade. 4" more leg room, your own overhead bin space (great when your carry-on is pressing the limits), priority boarding and a few other perks. I fully felt like it was money well spent. 

Now I am exploring this marvelous district, and looking to get some more shots of these epic monuments that are taking my breath away.  However, I better stop writing because I just missed my stop to Arlington. Time for the #googlemaps.....

Happy Birthday, America!