Pioneer Woman at Heart

One Flourishing, Frugal and Fun Family!

One family learning to live off the land, cut back on expenses, and to live a simpler and a more self-sufficient lifestyle.

Adopted Motto

"Eat it up,
Wear it out,
Make it do,
Or go without."
~A Pioneer Sampler, by Barbara Greenwood~

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Sleep Deprived . . .

Hubby and I are so sleep deprived, and stressed out, we can't imagine what our daughter is feeling right now.  Although this post has nothing to do with self-sufficiency, it does have to do with Parenthood.  


Let me rewind to Monday.  We dropped our oldest daughter (20 years old) off at the National Guard office, where they drove her to the Detroit airport.  There she was to fly to SC to start basic training. 

However, the Detroit area was suffering pretty bad tornado type weather, and they sat on the plane for hours, and eventually she made it to her connection airport, which was (and still is) Chicago.

There, she missed the last flight into SC.  Not knowing what to do, and having been given the wrong number to call, she texted me "Idk what to do."  Keep in mind, she has never flown before, and was not instructed correctly on what to do if this happened.

Hubby and I got on the phone, finally getting a person to answer, who told us there was a number in her packet that helped with flight problems.  After a few numbers were called, she got the right one, and got a hotel for the night.  They provided her a salad, and we could finally rest.

Tuesday.  She was to be on a flight yesterday at 4pm-ish.  I continued to get text messages of her flight being delayed.  She of course did not get anything to eat during this time.  Finally, late evening her flight was canceled.

Last night we spent the entire night calling an officer (who did give us his card), for help.  For some reason, she could not get her ticket changed due to some "code" on her ticket.  Even the person she asked for help at the OSU building refused to help her (found out later this person was not doing their job).  The OSU building is for military.   She had already been to the ticket counter, waiting in line for 2-3 hours, and again was told they couldn't do anything with her ticket.  

Again, about midnight I get a text, "Idk what to do." 

We call the officer and explain that there is a problem with the ticket and without a boarding pass he cannot leave the airport.  And during all this time in trying to fix the ticket, she missed out on getting a room at a hotel.  All the hotels filled up due to so many flights canceled. She was forced to sleep on the floor at the airport, and the OSU building closed at midnight.

On her own, never flown before, and no one would help her.

About a little after 1:00am she finally texted she had a new ticket.  The officer agreed to be up and speak to the ticket agent when she got to the counter (in case they refused to change her ticket again).

However, her ticket is not for her to leave today, but tomorrow (Wed.).  The question today is whether or not she can secure a bed and food for the day and night.  

Stressed?  Oh, you bet we are stressed.  It doesn't help when Tuesday morning she texted she was so anxious from all this (never flying before, leaving home, getting lost in one of the biggest airports, not able to find help, having been given poor instructions) to read a text that she was unable to eat anything.

We are so stressed out, we can't imagine what she is feeling right now.  I have no idea if she was even able to sleep last night let alone get something to eat (or even be able to eat).

Hubby said, "do you want to pray?"  I said I not only prayed, but put her (and her brother) on every prayer list I know.

5 comments:

EMMA said...

No wonder you are stressed!! Poor girl. Has she got her flight yet? and something to eat? What terrible organization - sounds to me like a lot of people not doing their jobs properly!
Take care.

Carolyn said...

I can't imagine how she feels :(
I'll keep her (and you) in my thoughts today for a hopefully stress-free and safe final lenght of her journey.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

As of today (Tuesday) they were able to get her on a flight later in the evening (vs. Wed). I hope she is able to get on it this time. She got no sleep, and that is not good prior to basic training. I am hoping she gets sleep until the flight time.

Unknown said...

You gotta love bureacrasies! Sorry for your girl, but the military sometimes isn't exactly oraganized...

Liz said...

Oh my gosh, that is just terrible! I can't believe no one would help her. I was watching the news and seeing all of the people who were stuck at O'Hare! I would be a stressed mom too!!