Our flight out was at 9:00. That is so much later than my recent flights that I didn't give myself enough time, and I found us leaving Norman about 7:45. It hit me that we wouldn't be to the airport until about 8:15 and upon further inspection of our itinerary, I realized we boarded at 8:40. I'm starting to panic just a tiny bit at this point. Hallie is "We will make it, let's not freak out". I decide as we are driving up that I am going to have her drop me and the luggage at the front door, so we can get those heavy bags checked before cut off, and she can go park in the garage and run in. As we drive up, the GARAGE is full, so I drop the swan off at the front door with the luggage and our tickets and bid her farewell as I make my way to the parking lot and hope to flag down the Shuttle. I park on row L about a mile away from the airport and I jump out of the car, grab my keys and I am off! The shuttle grabs me, I beg him to take me straight to the door without picking up any other passengers and he shrugs and says "Sure". Hallie and I check our bags in with 2 minutes to spare. We have TSA prechecks, so we cruise through security and it's 8:35! 5 minutes to spare. I'm feeling very cocky and thinking we have time to get a sonic sweet tea to celebrate, when I realize that I left my wallet in the Tahoe two miles away. Hallie throws my ticket and my driver's license in my hand (SMART SMART GIRL) and I start RUNNING to the car, three thousand miles away. By the time I hit the escalators outside, I have a stitch in my side, but I'm still running. NO SHUTTLE, so I run through the garage and about half way through I spot a security guy. As I run by him (mind you), I yell, "CAN YOU GET ME A GOLF CART?? I MIGHT DIE if I KEEP RUNNING" and I hear him on the walkie talkie "WE have a runner in the garage, wearing a hot pink tshirt, heading to the lot". I don't have time to laugh, because it's all I can do to breathe and not pee my pants. I am limping, skipping at this point, breathing so hard, all I can think is "After this, I am SOOO getting in shape", and I see my car in the distance, I feel a surge of energy pour through me, and I sprint on to the car. The wallet is lodged under the passenger seat, and I find an old opened bottle of water, and I grab it on the way out, and lo and behold, up DRIVES my KNIGHT in Shining GOLF CART ARmor!" "I hear you need a ride!!" I'm too winded and too sweaty to answer, but I jump in and off we roll. I gulp the water bottle like I have been living in a desert for a year. Meanwhile in the airport, Hallie is making a Plan B, since she found out from the gate attendant that if I don't get there in 10 minutes, the gate is closing. She finds out that there is a later flight, we can still get there on Monday, so she has decided all is ok. I don't know any of this. I'm too busy fighting ladies in wheelchairs at security and yelling that I am going to miss my flight. By this time, I'm no longer running, skipping or doing anything except dragging my left leg behind me because I've dislocated my hip from running. Imagine what Hallie, who is pacing and having the gate attendant give her nasty looks, finally looks down the airport walkway and sees my hot pink shirt in the distant. Walking. Like I have all the time in the world. MOM!!!! RUN!!!! Oh. Really? Run? I take a deep breath and try skipping again, and we walk on the plane with the door literally closing behind us. She is so busy laughing at me (sweaty, limping mess that I am), she finally stops rolling long enough to say, "I wish I had my video camera out to get all that" and after I drink 200 gallons of water, I start laughing too.
Until we had our layover in Houston, and I couldn't move my leg. It's all fun and games until someone forgets their wallet.
Looking back, it seems like it would have been far smarter and faster to send the West Point athlete running though the airport....but we realized that she had NO idea where I parked and NO WAY could get the wallet and back. People. I did that little bit of amazingness in 14 minutes. I ran at least two thousand miles and got back through security in 14.... FOURTEEN..... minutes. That should go in the Guinness book of World Records or something. I mean...for reals.
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