Friday, March 11, 2011

A charmed day

Here are some things that never happen.

  1. The flight attendant says "We have a very full flight today," and warns people about overhead bin space three separate times, but the middle seat in my row remains unoccupied.
  2. A flight leaves 10 minutes early and arrives 20 minutes early.
Both things happened to me on the same flight from Atlanta to Dallas today.  I felt a bit like I'd accidentally crossed over into the Neverland Airport.

It was a welcome reward for a couple of days that were among the longest of the semester.  Flying in for 24 hours of meeting and then flying back feels like the mental equivalent of a four-day trip, just with all the downtime excised.  I completely forgot about e-mail until an hour before I was set to leave the hotel today, and when I checked on my phone, I had 158 unread.

Now I'm home, where magical things have been happening, like Archer coming in 9th (out of 43) in his first-ever chess tournament, and Cady Gray doing square dances.  It's a strange disconnect given the world news of natural disasters (text "REDCROSS" to 90999 to donate $10 on your phone bill, by the way) and the steady stream of tweets from my students and friends with Japanese connections.  It feels like a secret bonus to have a full -- well, fullish, because of Daylight Savings Time -- weekend with my kids after what amounts to working two jobs over the last 12 days.  I hope you have similar blessings, and that you count every one.

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