The first week of February we finally got snow in St. Louis. Snow not only fell in St. Louis, it fell all across the Midwest. To celebrate, myself and my fellow Skytresses and Skyters had an impromptu crew slumber party in the crew lounge. I’ll admit. It wasn’t much of a party. I’m pretty sure no one really slumbered, either. I know I didn’t. But, saying we had a party, instead of saying we got stuck in Atlanta, sounds so much fancier. Yessiree. It does indeed.
Fortunately, it’s been years since I had to spend the night in the crew lounge. That time my Skytress commuter friend, Regina, and I missed our flight home because of thunderstorms. We enjoyed flying together. But, we decided having a layover at home on Father’s Day was not worth the crazy trip. However, if I had to stay in the crew lounge with anyone, I was blessed to have Regina there with me. I knew this time when I spent the evening in the crew lounge I wouldn’t be alone. I had seen enough flight cancellations on the flight board to know the lounge would be humming with activity.
Earlier in the day I had great hopes that my flight to St. Louis would go as scheduled. I had been monitoring the flights into and out of St. Louis for the previous two days. Several flights had canceled. Other flights had departed and landed on time. Despite the ugly weather updates I was getting from the St. Louis weathermen, I was encouraged that my flight status was still showing on time. My First Officer on our flight from Phoenix to Atlanta also commuted from St. Louis. We both had to fly a turn before our flight home. First Officer Craig had an Orlando turn. I had to fly to Milwaukee and back. Needless to say, we were both counting down the time until our flight home. I did have a two-hour sit in Atlanta before I flew to Milwaukee. I used this time to call home and get the latest weather update from my sister.
My sister Patti explained the weathermen had been wrong with their forecast. They had predicted the heavy snow would end at noon. Now they were predicting the snow would end in the evening. I was concerned with this latest forecast. I would be landing at midnight. The thought of digging out my Suburban this late at night was not appealing to me. Yes. Me. The one who always proclaims my love for snow. Ironic, eh?!
I was chitchatting with several Skyters in the lounge when my sister Patti called me back. She asked me if I had an extra car key at home. I told her I did. She then asked me where the employee parking lot was at the airport. She explained that she and my brother-in-law, Pat, were going to go to the parking lot and clean off my Suburban while it was still daylight. She didn’t want me cleaning the ice and snow off my car at midnight in a desolate parking lot. I admit. I do have the best sister in the world. I tried my best to describe where the parking lot was and how to enter it. Fortunately, I got an excellent parking space for someone trying to find my car. After I hung up with my sister I decided to draw a picture of the parking lot and text it to her. It was a very crude drawing. But, I think it explained things much better than my verbal explanation. After I sent my text, I checked my flight home. It was still departing on time. Yessiree. I was very hopeful.
We were heading to Milwaukee when I found out my flight home had canceled. Initially I was shocked and disappointed. I really wanted to get home. I only had one day off and then I would be heading back to Atlanta to start another trip. But, as I always tell people. I have never not gotten home. Sometimes it’s just later than planned. This would be one of those times. I, also, know that God delays us to protect us. Knowing this, I couldn’t be mad and upset with the cancellation. I called my sister when we landed in Milwaukee. She and my brother-in-law were in the process of cleaning the snow and thick ice off my car. She wasn’t surprised my flight had canceled. However, she knew I was looking forward to coming home that evening. Patti lifted my spirits by telling me my car would be in excellent shape when I arrived in the morning. I was eternally grateful for this fact. Yessiree. Patti definitely is the best sister in the world.
My crew couldn’t ave been nicer when I told them my flight was canceled. They had been rooting for my flight to depart as scheduled. The sweet, young Skytress on my crew offered for me to come spend the night at her home. I graciously declined. I would only be in the crew lounge for eight or so hours. Heck. Some days I sit four hours in the lounge before I sign in for my trip. What was an extra four hours? Plus, I knew I wouldn’t be alone in the lounge. And I wasn’t.
When I arrived in the crew lounge I immediately saw Skytresses and Skytress that commute to Atlanta. I sat down at the computer next to a Skytress I flew with several times in the last few weeks. She told me she had landed at 3pm. She had watched all her flights to Cleveland canceled for the rest of the day. She, like me, would be staying in the lounge until our 8am flights. Skytress Kim was fortunate in one aspect. Since she had been hanging out at the airport all afternoon, she was able to score one of the few recliners in the crew lounge. Yes. We do have a crew sleep room in the lounge. However, this room gets locked during the night. It doesn’t matter if inclement weather causes the crew lounge to be filled with sleepy Skytresses and Skytrers. A supervisor always locks the room at night. I looked around the lounge at my makeshift bed options. I grabbed a seat in the corner of the lounge. It was near a coveted outlet. Yessiree. I felt like a inclement weather winner. I plugged my iPad charger into the outlet. My slumber party plan was to catch up on some Instagram viewing and watch a few things on YouTube and Netflix.
A fellow St. Louis Skytress came over to talk to me. She had hoped to go home and then come back the next day to fly another trip. The flight cancellations got her, too. A few minutes after she left to go sleep in her chair another Skytress friend arrived in the lounge. Skytress Lou missed her flight home because they had a mechanical in Wichita. She knew my flight was departing at the gate upstairs from our lounge. She told me a passenger on her flight was supposed to be on the 11pm flight to St. Louis. Skytress Lou had befriended the woman. The woman was leaving an abusive husband. The story Skytress Lou told me about the passenger made my predicament of staying in the lounge pale in comparison.
I did try to close my eyes several times during the night. I just couldn’t fall asleep. I thought about heading over to one of the pilot lounges or our international lounge. However, I figured those lounges would be packed with people, too. I finally gave up on trying to sleep. I decided I would go into the restroom and wash my face and reapply my makeup. I figured it would make me feel more human on my flight home. Yes. We do have showers in the crew lounge. Admittedly, I wasn’t gung-ho to take one to make myself feel more human.
Skytress Lou decided she would accompany me to my gate to check on the woman passenger from her flight. Lou had a little time before her flight to Knoxville. As I collected my things, I saw a penny on the floor. Ah, another penny from Heaven! I put it in my left pocket and we headed up to my gate. I checked in with the agent for the Skytress jumpseat. Then I went over to talk to the passenger from Lou’s flight. As I was talking to her, I reached into my pocket to take my phone out. It wasn’t there. I checked my flight bags. It wasn’t in there, either. I had an awful feeling I left it on the chair in the crew lounge. The agents were minutes away from starting to board the plane. I apologized to the woman passenger from Lou’s flight. I told her I had to run back to the crew lounge for my phone. The jumpseating pilot could see the panicked look on my face. I told him I had to run to the lounge to look for my phone. I was walked briskly back down the concourse. My commuting First Officer, Craig, called out my name. He saw me walking quickly. He asked me if there had been a gate change. I quickly told him I had to run back to the lounge to get my phone. I’ll admit. I was in powerful prayer mode. I decided to forgot the train. I dragged my bags from one concourse to the other concourse. My penny in my pocket gave me confidence that I would make it back to my flight on time. Still I made haste. I left my flight bags near the elevator when I walked into the lounge. I quickly went to the chair I had been sitting in for hours prior. It wasn’t there. I walked over to the duty desk and asked the supervisor if anyone had turned in a phone. He said someone had. As he pulled out my phone from a drawer, he told me he made an announcement in the lounge asking if anyone had lost the phone. I smiled and told him I didn’t hear his announcement because I was on another concourse. He laughed. I reversed course and I headed back to my gate. I merged in with the passengers boarding my flight. I checked in with the pilots and Skytress In-Charge. Then I headed to the back galley. First Officer Craig was sitting in an exit row seat. He was happy to see me as I made my way to the back of the plane. After introducing myself to the Skytresses in the back, I stepped into the aft lavatory to try to dab the sweat that was on my face. So much for redoing my makeup. Thank goodness for my face mask. The crew working the flight couldn’t have been nicer. The Skytress In-Charge called the Skytresses in the back of the plane. She informed them there would be an open aisle seat in the last row for me. I was blessed to get a seat on an oversold flight. Many of the passengers had flights cancel the previous day. I sat in my seat and gave thanks to God. Then I watched the Olympic Opening Ceremonies on the in-seat tv monitor. Yessiree. Life was great.
I talked to one of my commuting pilots when I stepped off the employee shuttle. He filled me in on the road conditions. I filled him in on my sister and brother-in-law cleaning off my car. He was impressed. My Suburban did slide a wee bit as I pulled out of my parking spot. I said a quick prayer that I didn’t hit the shuttle shelter or the pilot. The drive home was not what I expected. The roads were still snowpacked. Thankfully I made it home safely.
I didn’t go to sleep until later that night. Nope. I was too busy getting my things ready to fly back to Atlanta the next day on the 6am flight. When I placed my head on my pillow I had been up 38 hours. I was exhausted. But, I was also excited. I had one more trip to fly before I went on vacation. I needed a vacation after my last trip. Crew slumber parties are simply exhausting!