The Holidays of 2009 will go down in the history books as the Year of the Lost Week between Thanksgiving and Christmas. (According to my mother.) My mother has been talking nonstop about this phenomenon ever since the Thanksgiving bloat wore off. She keeps bemoaning her fate of spearheading the holiday festivities in three weeks rather than four. I have been meaning to dissect calendars of holiday seasons past in an attempt to figure out what the heck she is talking about, but honestly, I haven't done so because a. I've been too busy and b. I tend to get easily absorbed in books that I really like and I just finished The Time Traveler's Wife and I am therefore in sci-fi mode at the moment and fancy this idea of The Lost Week. It sounds "out there" and really cool, so naturally, I just want to roll with it. Thanks, Mom!
My mother isn't the only one in a holiday panic. It has been a constant conversation piece in the break room at work. People are generally in holiday freak out mode this time of year, but in 2009, they are in freak out overdrive. I listen to their woes and offer my mom's Lost Week Theory. Everyone slowly nods in unanimous agreement. Everyone looks a tad confused but doesn't say anything. Perhaps after this year of historic economic crap, we are all in need of a little sci-fi escape.
Yet nothing could be more sci-fi-ilistic (yes, I made that word up) than my Holidays 2009 Airport Experience on Saturday, December 19th.
As a single woman/rebel who dared to move away from her family, her hometown, and her home state, it is apparently my familial duty to return to said hometown each year for Christmas. Since I probably enjoy travel more than anyone else in my family, I accept this duty with good humor.
As a serial single woman/rebel, I travel alone 99%of the time. Don't panic just yet. I actually relish traveling alone because it gives me me the excuse to go on a 4-5 hour non-fiction reading binge in broad daylight. (Usually, my schedule allows for only bedtime fiction reading where I promptly pass out thirty minutes in.) Today, I am on a combination reading/writing binge which I am particularly excited about. (I am writing this post from my cramped aisle seat in coach.) I am not sure what I would do if I were forced to interact with someone right now. You wouldn't be reading this, and I would postpone reading How to Rule the World from Your Couch for month #3. (So many books, so little time.)
Anywho, my loner traveling tendencies have nothing to do with the sci-fi-ilisticness of the Holidays 2009 Airport Experience. Back to that....
Everyone who, like me, travels the Saturday before Christmas knows that this is one of the busiest travel days of the year. The mere thought of crowds on this day makes most people break into hives, but I thrive on the holiday bustle. I am the Saturday Before Christmas Airport Adrenaline Junkie. Give me hordes of holiday travelers, and I am as happy as an elf. My friends think I am nuts, but what else is new?
Here's the wacky sci-fi part: When I arrived at the airport today, there was no wait at the skycap. I checked in instantaneously.
When I arrived at the security gate, there was no line. I walked right up to Mr. Tired-Looking Security Officer and muttered something witty like, "Wow. No lines." To which Mr. Tired-Looking Security Officer replied, "You lucked out. You missed the line of 3,000 this morning!"
WHAT?!?! I always, always, ALWAYS fly out on Saturday morning, and this year I had the great idea of sleeping in and catching an early afternoon flight. I sabotaged my own Holidays 2009 Airport Experience! ARGH!!!
Mr. Tired-Looking Security Officer must have read the disappointment in my face because he looked at me as if I had sprouted three heads. He quickly returned my boarding pass and driver's license and sent me on my merry-less way. I dazedly approached gate 6A where there I stumbled upon extra mild holiday bustle. Certainly not enough to affect my pulse. And now that I think of it, I had the great misfortune of being in Terminal 2 which has a Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf which apparently does not blare an eclectic mix of holiday tunes like Starbucks does in Terminal 4. You will find me griping about Starbucks January - November (I prefer indie coffeehouses) but not in December. Nope. Starbucks escapes my wrath because of their enthusiastic holiday cheer. I am a sucker for holiday cheer.
And the airport was cheerless today. Bah Humbug!
I allowed myself to pout for 5 minutes, but then I remembered that Santa says that I better not 'cause he's comin' to town. As Santa is my witness, I will not allow this unfortunate event to scrooge up the official launch of my holiday festivities with the fam. After all, tomorrow is another day! I will soon cross my parents' threshold, and my 40-year-old self will regress into my 12-year-old self. And the sci-fi continues....
Ho, Ho, Ho, and Merry, Merry to All!
P.S. If you are reading this as you are snowed in at Dulles or elsewhere, I extend my sincerest apologies. On behalf of my fellow Phoenicians, I invite you to move to The Valley of the Sun where you can benefit from an airport free of weather delays while you help us climb out of our 2009 housing abyss.
