Day 7: Our "Final" Day of the Trip . . . (Sort of . . .)

When we woke up, we had nothing planned — nothing but a checkout by 11. The rest of the afternoon was ours to spend as we pleased. After all — the week had been filled with a lot of fun and medal or not, we all considered it a success.

Although the heat wave of 100 degrees had broken and it was only in the upper 80’s, the miles and miles and miles we put on our shoes made us feel like taking a break and staying close to “home”. Our thoughts included anything free and close by; the activities included reading, writing, talking, video-watching, and learning to shuffle cards.

We did put one final mile on our shoes and that included one final trip to the Centennial Park area with a visit to the Waffle House. For most of the group, it was a first-time visit, but it was work that one final mile — delicious! We were impressed at the level of tenacity the head waitress displayed and considered that it is the same never-give-up attitude that every working person had that we encountered. It didn’t matter the station of their career; all were essential, and the higher up, the more humble. We were reminded of how important each worker is in our society. Someone designed the graphics used at the events, someone helped create the final look prior to appearing on camera, someone ensured the safety and preparation for the overall health of the participants, someone took care of the nutritional needs of those attending, and an entire team of “someones” laid mile and mile and mile of wire to supply the energy needed for the main events. All of these “someones” represent our students attending NLSC — and all of these plus so many more made this week a success.

Then, it was time to head to the station and finally head home. There was already a 1/2 hour delay in place, but we kept the connection with our driver. Needing to be there about an hour and a half prior to departing, what’s thirty more minutes?

But then a delay of thirty minutes turned into thirty more minutes.

And then thirty more minutes.

And then sixty more minutes.

And in the early morning hours, we finally boarded not at the planned 11:30 time — it was much closer to 3:30 AM. It was possible that we could make the connecting train if that train was running late (which they seem to do). . . We put into use the saying, “Control what you can control. For all else — let go.”

Would we make the next train?

Of all the trains to be on time — it was our connecting train, and it had left an hour before we arrived in DC.

And oh yeah — one of our pieces of luggage didn't make it to be transferred. . .

Super-tired, a little worried, and slightly befuddled, we waited a bit more ‘til our questions could be answered. Though our students had every reason to complain, they didn’t. Surprisingly — they just took all of the bad news in stride.

So now what? To find out how our “Bonus Day” went — you’ll need to read the last and final National’s post for Day 8: “Joy in the Journey”