Christmas Alone: Hour 1

I've just said goodbye to Rod and Miss M., as they have gone to Alberta by vehicle. This statement would normally elicit a mundane response, but under the circumstances, I understand why there is concern; after all, BC has just been walloped by days of snow, making driving a treacherous business.

Well, the saga begins yesterday around noon. It was snowing. Again. And we started watching the activity at the airport closely. I signed up to get updates texted to me on my cell phone, and right away, it was clear Miss M's flight was delayed. We drove out to the Trailerhood so the Grandparents could have one last visit with Miss M. before she leaves Vancouver for good. Around 4, we packed up and took off in bad conditions for the airport, and Rod's top speed on the 99 reached about 90 kph, whereas the posted speed limit is 100. We already knew her flight was delayed over an hour, but better safe than sorry!

We got to the airport, checked the bags, and off we went to wait out the delay, which kept growing longer, and we were there maybe an hour before it was apparent that she was not getting out, which upset her greatly. Ever deal with an overwrought 14 year old girl? Multiple it by 10 because Miss M. can be incredibly frustrating under less trying circumstances. We were on the phone with her mother updating her, and I could tell even mother could not calm Miss M. down.

For some reason, it was the world's most imperative task to get her home to Mother for xmas. That's when the desperate ideas (not mine) started flying (at least something was):

• put her on the bus - Rod, Mother and Miss M. all got really excited about refunding her flight and heading for the greyhound, but I was forced to point out repeatedly that the rules for taking minors had changed this summer, and it was 10 pm before Rod made the call to find out that I was right, and that the bus was not an option.
• Get her to Edmonton, then she can hotel/get picked up by friends - We could get her a connecting flight tomorrow (Monday) to Mother's location, but we couldn't get her out of Vancouver to Edmonton. The delayed flight she was booked on was slated to leave 6 hours late, around 12:30 am, but she would be in Edmonton for 12 hours by herself. Refusing to go with any of our friends (and I was not calling them because I actually want to keep these people as friends...inflicting overwrought teenager on them would end that), Miss M. started texting her friends to see if parents would be willing to chauffeur her around. Came close with one, but it was apparent she couldn't get back to the airport, so it was a no-go. The next idea was to put her in a hotel, except how do you book a 14 year old into a hotel in another city by herself? Exactly.
  
• Fly her out on Tuesday (the next available flights) - this might have worked, but Miss M. threw a fit about going any later than yesterday, and by the time everyone was done running around trying to make the desperate ideas happen, this option expired by virtue of the fact that the airlines were unreachable. By this time, her flight had been cancelled, and her only option was to drive to Alberta with Rod, and be picked up by Mother in Hinton. She was again upset, not wanting to do this AT ALL.
  

Rod was supposed to leave to drive to Vegreville tomorrow, and today was supposed to be errands day. First on our list was that we needed chains for the tires. Second was xmas shopping, and then packing, and spending time together before he left. Well, the itinerary got drastically adjusted to look like this:

1. wake up really early and start calling places, desperately searching for chains - Finally located some at Lordco 5 minutes away, so run over and purchase!
2. Get girl, belongings, and odds'n'ends into car and go - quick 2 minutes for last minute driving cautions and advice, and kiss

Stupid thing in all of this is that Miss M. won't make it to xmas location until the 23rd anyways, so had I booked the back up flight for the 23rd when I was at the ticket counter around 6:30 and trying to arrange a new connecting flight (like I, and I alone wanted to), she could have been flying in comfort instead of knocking herself out to avoid the anxiety of driving on bad highways with an uncle she barely tolerates.

I swear, sometimes, I'm a lonely little island of common sense in a sea of stupid. I realized the futility of our airport antics early on, but how do you explain that to an overwrought teen who always gets her way....that sometimes, it is IMPOSSIBLE to get what you want, just accept what you can get? If you can answer that, you're parental unit/guardian of the bloody millenium.

So that, in a nutshell, is how it came to pass that I am alone for xmas a day longer.