What Happened to "We're Cutting It Close!?"

Morning of flight.  "T" Day.  Troops assembling to come ashore, under cover of dark.  BUT what is unusual about today?  Well, only Brent and Betsy will understand this, but their dad is an engineer.  Now, I know there are great qualities in engineers.  They are like grown-up Boy Scouts: everything in its place, clean your plates when you eat, pack in orderly fashion for outings, get there on time, no matter what.  It's this last thing that has caused a problem in our household for hundreds (yes, hundreds) of years.

When I worked, I would pack at midnight for a flight leaving at 7 a.m. There was actually more than a 50% chance we might be late. Horrors!!  We would get up at o-dark-hundred to get to the airport.  And the whole time, bubbling up inside Bos, was this one statement:  "We're cutting it close...we're cutting it close...we're cutting it close."  Even if he never said it, he was THINKING it. Particularly, Betsy and I would chastise him about his mantra.  We KNEW it was playing in his brain. And it would so not change anything.  All the pacing at home while we put on makeup didn't change anything.  Our eating breakfast didn't change anything. In fact, we knew what was going on inside him by the way he drove, once we got started  He would be careening down roads, veering onto highways, swearing at stalled traffic, all because his little Boy Scout heart was telling him we would be LATE. And LATE is the worst thing that can happen.  All the speeding, swearing, thinking about cutting it close, was supposed to make us show up on time.  Now, to cut the suspense, we always did make it on time. BUT this time, this one time, we were EARLY!!  Noone was in line. Airport was empty.  People strolled to gates.  Check-in clerks were helpful and polite.  We could wander toward the gate many miles away, where there were no people waiting --- because we were there soooo early.  We could even take a bathroom break, as a precaution!

So, I ask you, what happened to my Boy Scout??? Why were we early??  He packed on Thursday.  He repacked again on Sunday night -- just to make sure.  And still, his little engineer heart was pounding about being late.  Not good.  NEXT time we will make sure to do this all at the last minute.  THEN he will feel justified, in his heart of hearts, to continue with his travel mantra:  "We're cutting it close."