The Wait is Over...?

It was a beautiful Monday morning. The moon was out, round and yellow. Unfortunately, it was not quite 3AM. But the students gathered in a large circle surrounding both the parents who came to drop them off and those who came to accompany them to Brazil. The gentle quiet of the night was highlighted as the first strains of “The Lord Bless You and Keep You” rose and swelled around the circle, tenor, bass and soprano weaving in and out, lifting the parents, lifting the students as they set off on a trip they would long remember.

Personally, I slept through most of it. Not the singing, the bus ride. But by many accounts it proved to be an exciting beginning to our trip. Some said we started flying even before we reached the first airport, others commented on the numerous semis dodged, others still described it as just a bumpy ride. I can say it was pretty cool on bus 3 (the fun bus), even for a June morning in Michigan. But we wrapped ourselves in blankets and sweatshirts and shawls and whatever else we could find, and dug in for a bit of shut-eye. In any case, we made it to Chicago O’Hare all together and all in one piece. And just in time to hurry up and... wait.

And wait.

And wait.

It is surprising how much time it takes to process one hundred twenty passengers through ticket and passport checks and the issuing of boarding cards. To entertain ourselves, we took turns weighing (and re-weighing) our luggage and carry ons. While there is a fifty pound limit for luggage on most international flights, we were delighted to learn that Brazil is the one exception, allowing seventy pounds for each passenger’s luggage. This was particularly good news to me when I discovered that I had over-filled Angie’s bag by eight pounds! My fault for stuffing some of my video accessories into her suitcase when my reached the limit. Oops.

Then we waited (waded) through the TSA line to check our carry on bags, laptops and liquids. All in all, over three hours later, Kevin Dake made his way through the security screening as the last of our group to reach the gates. Where we will... wait.

As expected, the kids are great, the adult company is great, and, even at such an early stage, the trip is great. Hey, even the wait is great!