Leaving The Maldives And Going Back Home

 

Leaving The Maldives And Going Back Home

In every fun vacation there is a dark cloud, and it usually comes when it is time to return home.
For us, this dark cloud was a literal one.
The blue skies covering us for the last month in the Maldives, had turned very dark.

By the time we boarded the speedboat taking us to the seaplane it was raining heavily, and lightning bolts were piercing the cloudy skies.

Neptune, the God of the sea, was sensing and sympathizing with my nervousness.
I was NOT looking forward to returning to the USA.

My mind was conjuring up images of the endless and constant spam calls that we get daily, of busy or nervous American people, of our overloaded highways lined with bulletin boards advertising divorce lawyers, injury lawyers and medical liability, all promising quick and painless cash settlements at no cost to you.

But we maxed out our Maldivian visa by staying for a full month in this island nation.
During this month, I did 44 dives, and saw hundreds of species of coral and marine life.
We were tested 5 times for Coronavirus and got 5 negative COVID PCR test results.

But best of all, we had a fabulous time, met wonderful people from all over the world, ate delicious food, got great massages, and for a little while, relaxed from the social nervousness of the pandemic that still grips the world.

To cheer myself up, I was thinking of the tulips and the daffodils in our garden, hoping that some of the bulbs that we planted last fall would be blooming by now.
I was thinking of the beauty of the mountains, the wildlife, anything to cheer me up.

Flying home took us more than two whole days.
Our flight from Doha to Dallas USA alone, took 18 hours.
I can understand why some people hate flying for so many hours.

But Dallas is not our home.
From Dallas, we still had to fly to Denver, and after staying overnight in Boulder, we had to drive four hours into the mountains we call home.

In the Dallas airport, while sitting at the gate for our flight to Denver, we heard four different announcements that our gate had been changed.

The last gate change required us to take the skytrain connecting the terminals of the Dallas airport, to another terminal.
Like everyone else, we rushed up the escalators to the sky train.
We had about 30 minutes before boarding began.

The airport was very crowded and full of busy people on tight schedules, so nobody noticed the big and tall but nervous man standing at the top of the escalator.

Well, nobody except me.
The man looked lost, with eyes full of fear.
I approached the man and asked him if he needed any help.
He told me that he was too scared to ride the steep escalator down.
He said that the long escalator was giving him vertigo.

I looked around and saw that there was an elevator at the end of the hall.
I asked him if he wanted me to take him down via the elevator.

He said, “Yes, please, help me sister!”
So I called to Jules, who was waiting for the train, that I would be a few minutes, and took the man’s hand and escorted him to the elevator.

I pressed the elevator button, but it did not work.
The man told me that he had already tried the elevator, and that it didn’t work.
He was thinking that maybe he was doing something wrong.
The elevator clearly wasn’t working, so I suggested to the man that we ride the escalator down together.
He told me he was willing to try, and that I should stand in front of him.

I did as he asked, and he stood behind me, holding my shoulder.
I showed him how to take a big step at the bottom of the escalator, and he did it perfectly and without a wobble.

He thanked me deeply and I waved goodbye and rushed back up the escalator to the train.
Jules was waiting for me but the train was ready to depart.

I ran toward the train, and without thinking much, I leaped into the train, just before the doors closed behind me.
I landed in front of a couple who screeched in delight,
“Hell, Yes! That’s how it’s done!!!”

I stood next to them, and they asked, “Excuse me, we do not mean to be intrusive, but what State of the USA are you from?”

I said, “Colorado.”
They nodded with approval, “Oh, Colorado…..” and looked at me with admiration, as if Colorado should be proud to have me living there.

I noticed that I felt happy, happy for being helpful and for not rushing through.
Maybe I would be able to keep this frame of mind, and going home would not be too bad after all…..

With love and light,
Tali