Today I missed my alarm. Not by much… only about 30 minutes. But those 30 minutes made the difference between being on the plane or being left in Kansas City.

I realized the evening before my flight that I had poison ivy on my arm… and that it was growing at an alarming rate. I ended up spending four hours waiting to see a doctor at after hours care. Somehow the people with broken bones and bloodied head took precedence. Those four hours were precious packing time and I ended up getting to bed only a couple of hours before I needed to get up. Maybe I just should have stayed up. Then I wouldn’t have missed the alarm.

I got to the check-in counter 25 minutes before my plane’s scheduled departure.

I’m sorry, she said, you are too late.

I was already panicked… even before she delivered the sentence that I knew was coming.

You are too late.

I was only five minutes too late. Couldn’t they just take me anyway?

You are too late.

It rang in my head. And the mind chatter began…

ButMarthaIsMeetingMeAtTheAirportInCharlotte.IHaveToGetAholdOfMartha. WeHaveToGetToColumbiaBeforeTheWorkshopBegins.IHaveToCallKaren.

WAIT… HowMuchIsItGoingToCostMeToRebookMyFlight?HowWillIPayForIt?WhatWillIDo?

The 10:15 flight has already been canceled for today, she politely informed me.

OH MY GOSH! The next flight has already been canceled. I am going to be incredibly late.

But the 3:35 flight has open seats and is a direct flight arriving in Charlotte at 7:50 p.m. If you’ll just give me your ticket, I can make the change.

Ok… how much is this going to cost me?

Oh, there’s no charge.

NoCharge?

No Charge.

N o C h a r g e.

N O C H A R G E !!!

In the current economic climate, I certainly did not expect that. At a time when airlines are instituting extra charges for those who dare to take a suitcase, I didn’t really believe that this courtesy had any chance of being extended. I had already checked online and knew that the cheapest price for the ticket was more than $600.

No charge.

And then I called Martha. Martha lives in Charlotte and is the director of student housing for the workshop. I told her that I was indeed coming but had missed my flight and would be arriving more than nine hours late.

I expected a long pause.

I expected her to begin mentally and verbally rearranging her day to deal with my lapse.

I was afraid she would say that because of her other duties at the workshop, she would have to work out some other way for me to make the 90-minute trip between cities.

I expected her to inadvertently cause me to feel like a big, irresponsible jerk. Mostly, I guess, because I was already feeling like a big, irresponsible jerk.

She didn’t miss a beat. Susan, that’s wu-underfawl. You hev just given me a whole daay that I did not expect to ha-eve. Think of the things I kin do with it, she said in her easy North Carolina drawl.

There are some people on this earth who I swear live to make others feel bad about their mistakes. Who are quick to judge and quick to make others feel guilty for doing something as stupid as missing the plane.

And then there are the Marthas of the world. She made me feel like my tardiness had been the best gift she had received. She told me that this was awesome. She told me she had plenty to keep her occupied… nothing that she had planned to do, but several things she’d be grateful to have off of her list. She took my mistake and made me feel like it was a blessing.

Because of Martha, when I returned home to wait for my next flight, I didn’t stew about my error. Instead, I accomplished things. I took some items to the post office, FedExed some additional materials to the workshop and repacked my bags a little more carefully. I was there when my daughter came home from summer school and got to hear a little about her Phys Ed. class (the second day) and we chatted a little before she took off for the movie theater with friends.

By the time I actually got on the plane, I was relaxed. I slept nearly the entire way to Charlotte.

When Martha met me at the airport at nearly 8:30 p.m. (even my plane was late!), she told me of the quilt that she was able to complete… the unexpected windfall of a day with nothing planned. She listed all of the things she had been able to do because I missed the plane.

I wish I could be more like Martha. I need to take the time to see the blessing in the error, to find the silver lining in the cloud. I need to be more forgiving. More gentle with people… both the people who matter the most in my life and the people who work the window at Burger King and don’t quite allow me to Have It My Way.

We make choices on how to face the issues that confront us each day. We can fuss over the cost of the mistake. We can moan over the changes that will be required because of the error. We can count the number of times an individual has created problems and the number of times we have been inconvenienced. We can even berate the person or ourselves for being unable to accomplish the expected task.

Or we can be like Martha.

My goal for this week is to find opportunities to practice the lesson that Martha taught me today. I hope you’ll join me. Let’s look for the blessing in the inconvenience, the talent required to roll with the punches, the joy of making someone feel okay about an error… even one as big as missing the plane.

I’m looking forward to a great week. Let me know how it works out for you.

One Response to “Only Five Minutes”

1. Ann Thompson Says:
   June 20th, 2008 at 8:54 am

   Susan again your story is wonderful and again I see where the talent I recognize in your students comes from. Yes we all need to be more like Martha (me included). Thanks for continuing to teach us something.

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