Back to Germany

The month really flew by. By the end I was torn between wishing it was longer so I could stay with family and enjoy the comforts and luxuries of the States, and shorter so I could finally be with Ricky again. But eventually time ran out and I had to fly back home. Or at least I thought so. I made it to Baltimore no issues, but got stuck there for 3 days waiting for a seat to open up so I could fly back to Germany. I thought I had timed it pretty well, but I guess that everyone, all 185 people that showed up thought the same thing. And unfortunately there were only 123 seats available. The worst part? If one other person hadn't shown up, I would have gotten on that flight. It was so frustrating being that close to making it home, and then not. 

Luckily the military has some very strong bonds that are easy to develop, and because of that I was willing to share a hotel room with 2 complete strangers for the night so that I wouldn't have to stay in the Terminal 2 nights in a row. Granted we still spent enough time there (over 24 hours) that I was starting to feel like Tom Hanks from The Terminal by the end. The next flight out came and luckily for me there were less people and more empty seats! Enough that not only me, but the 2 ladies I stayed with were able to make it on board (not without a little drama of course, it wouldn't be space-a without it). We did a little celebratory dance to celebrate! 

It wasn't a bad experience, but it did test my willingness to "be the leaf". And even though it was tough and frustrating to go through, I look back at it now and be grateful. Grateful that I am part of an amazing military community. Grateful to have only been stuck for 3 days, and not the week that one of the ladies I stayed with was. And mostly just grateful that I felt safe the entire trip. Not once did I feel scared or afraid for my safety. Talk about blessings!