It Was Meant To Be

By Brookshire McDonald

I thought I was being smart

And so you see,

I started planning for Christmas

As early as could be.

With six children

And spouses, too,

There’s a lot of gifting

For me to do.

In addition I have 15 grands

And a brother I love very much.

I think of their personal passions

To keep me well in touch.

With iPad in hand

And thoughts in mind,

I begin my orders

Including one of a kind.

Then I search for flights

To join daughter and family.

Three of my grands are there

Waiting their GeeGee to see.

The month goes by

Sorta fast,

And Christmas Eve has arrived;

‘Tis here at last.

Suitcase gifts from GeeGee

Is a grandma tradition;

So off I go

With this addition.

Arriving at the airport two hours early

As directed,

I soon found an adventure

I had not expected.

I settled in

At my designated gate,

Soon to find out

My plane was late.

I checked the schedule board

As often as I could,

But nothing was improving

As it should.

So there I sat

Hour in and hour out

While passengers

Were mulling all about.

In the meantime I met a couple of men

Waiting for the exact same flight.

The rescuer I am I thought about

Taking them home for the night.

My children I could hear

In the back of my mind,

M-O-T-H-E-R it could not be safe

To be so kind.

Two of my children

Began to text

“Go home; go home

You don’t know what’s next.”

You could get stuck in Orlando

Four days or more

Never making it to Birmingham

That’s for “Shore.”

Spending Christmas with alligators

Was not a good thought,

Because what about my grandchildren

And the gifts I had bought?

Heeding their advice

To the baggage claim I went;

A baggage claim was printed,

And to the handlers was sent.

They retrieved my luggage

Off the cart at the cargo door.

I was lucky to get mine

As there were hundreds more.

At the same time

As I was stuck,

My daughter’s family was in Colorado

Trying their luck.

They were trying

To get home to Birmingham, too

To host

This planned Christmas to-do.

Planes before and after theirs

Were canceled that night;

But a “Board now”

Was announced for their flight.

They arrived home

And crawled into bed

Just before Santa

Appeared on his sled.

After a night of being

All nestled and snug

Christmas morn began by screams of

There’s water coming down on the rug!

The ceiling began to stain

And about to fall,

As water continued to drip

All down the hall.

The water was turned off

To stop the flood;

And thus began Christmas Day

Not as it should.

Back at home

Where I did retrieve

Urgent care was my next step

Back spasms to relieve.

Seven hours sitting at the airport

Had taken its toll

But maybe not as bad as my daughter’s house

Now growing mold.

Yes as I said maybe

It was meant to be;

I was not in the midst

Of their fiasco, you see.

The next week

I did go there

With GeeGee gifts still packed

For grands to share.

I’m sure they were more appreciative

Than alligators would be.

And I hope the two men had as good a late Christmas

As did “me”!

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