This summer, my family and I traveled to Europe. It was Victoria, my 1-year-old daughter’s first time out of the U.S. What fun was had! But the beginning of our trip didn’t start off as happy as the ending did. What was supposed to be a 17-hour travel time from Austin, Texas to Vienna, Austria – ended up being 34-hours – all this, because of a flight delay and technical difficulties with the airlines.
My husband and I lost one night in Europe and weren’t recouped for the room we paid for – even though we weren’t there. To add to the frustration, our baby wasn’t happy about sitting in an airport and on a plane for hours, including being squished in the middle row and in the middle section.
But things changed, when I met Esther – an older woman in her early 70s with grayish curly short hair. She sat to the left of me on the aisle seat, and has such a warm soul.
Poor Victoria was fussy when we were boarding so I kept singing nursery rhymes to keep her happy. She was probably fussy because my voice kept cracking. Ha! Esther came on about 10 minutes later, put her bag up, smiled at me before sitting and said, “Why hello, little baby. How old is she?”
I answered back, “She’s a year-old.” “I’m going to apologize now before we take off to Europe. She’s had enough of planes and will likely fuss for a while.”
“Oh please,” Esther replied. “I’m a grandmother. Babies fuss. It’s no trouble to me. You let me know when you want me to hold her and you and your husband can take a break. If anyone complains about her fussing, then they’re going to have to talk to me!”
We both laughed and I thanked her. I didn’t take her up on her offer to hold Tori, as she’s affectionately known, but I thought about it. Fortunately Tori slept the entire time. It was probably a mix of Esther’s comfort and the motion of the plane.
The 8-hour flight didn’t seem as long because Esther and I talked practically the entire time. She came with a group of girlfriends, about five of them – all retired and are now crossing things off their bucket list and traveling the world. Her “crew” was heading to Norway and Sweden to spend two weeks traveling along the coast and staying in a small village known for their cottage homes. This was her dream “and now I’m fulfilling all the things I couldn’t ever believe I get to do,” she said.
I learned two things from her that ride. First, if you have a bucket list, start crossing items off of it. Don’t wait. Fortunately, she’s doing things now, but why push things back. Life is worth living, conquering and seeing places and things only found in books. Second, if you don’t have a bucket list, make one now!
I didn’t think to create a bucket list, but I have one now. Since that meeting, I’ve already checked a few things off. Of course, I have hundreds more to go, but I’m crossing them off. I want to leave this Earth fulfilled!
This why I love meeting new people. We come in all shapes and sizes. We have different stories, different views, but there’s always one thing I take away – I learn something new every time. And this time, I took away something that I can share with Tori. Bucket list.
I added some of our photos in my album on Facebook. Check out the sites we saw in Vienna, Austria; Bratislava, Slovakia; Geneva Switzerland; and Brussels, Belgium.
Talk Story with Tee 