Erin's additions...
We left on Monday (5/24) morning to go to the airport, and en route we encountered a deluge that engulfed the Memphis airport. It was coming down so hard the airport lost power shortly after we arrived, but our flight was not delayed. We left our car in long term parking and met Bill Rogerson, a retired airline pilot and volunteer for Make A Wish, who was waiting for us at the airport. He helped us get our tickets and get our bags checked, then escorted us to a private conference room in Delta’s World Club to give us our vacation spending money (some $1400). Part was in cash, most was in American Express Gift Checks (which are still in my backpack).
Here it should be explained that Anya had slept very poorly the night before on account of her intense snake phobia. She had a difficult time falling asleep and woke several times in the night hysterical and claiming that snakes were in her bed. Consequently Erin didn’t sleep well, either. So when Bill pulled out our Make A Wish T-shirts, and ours had simply the Make A Wish logo while Ian’s featured a pair of dolphins, she had a complete meltdown—she wanted dolphins on her shirt. She was loud, out of control, screaming and crying and inconsolable. Erin had to take her out while I stayed with Ian and Bill. Finally they returned and Anya was somewhat subdued, and we made our way to the gate for our departure where we took a photo with Bill before saying goodbye.
Bill is an amazing person. He had lost his wife a few months ago and has no children, just his dog. As Clayton mentioned, he is "retired", meaning he spends all his time volunteering for various organizations, Make-a-Wish being only one of several. It was touching to see someone who spent so much of his life serving others -- often children he did not know. (As Clayton and I talked, we both hoped that we'd do something as worthwhile in our retirement. We actually both even looked into what types of volunteer opportunities are available through Make-a-Wish, though I don't think time (aka the kids) will permit it right now, it is something we would definitely like to consider in the future.) He was an incredibly friendly man, committed and passionate about what he does, and he put us all (except Anya, who is never comfortable around new adults) at ease. We enjoyed spending the morning with him. The flight was uneventful, I had to switch seats with a man to sit next to Anya (I don’t think either of them would have liked it if he had stayed) and she fell asleep on my arm the latter half of the flight. Upon arrival we got our baggage and our rental car (Anya was excited because it was, according to her, magenta -- which, as anyone knows, is her favorite color on Fridays) and drove first to Walmart to get groceries (and I lost my driver's license, which I would obviously need to reboard the plane if I wanted to return to Memphis later in the week. Clayton and I both learned that Heavenly Father even answers prayers that are said silently as you scramble in and out of a rental car, searching under children, in purses and backpacks, and between and underneath the same seats repeatedly) and then to our hotel (the Hyatt Regency in downtown San Antonio). We requested a fridge and microwave for our room, as well as a cot for Anya. Then we went out to the Riverwalk, and with all of the couples strolling hand-in-hand along that romantic walkway I felt a little weird holding the hand of an eight year old boy, but it was a nice place. We found a Mexican restaurant along the river to eat at, which was a little awkward as always, immediately moving everything on the table out Ian’s reach and pulling out his sippy cup before he has a chance to grab anything on the table. But it was pleasant.
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