Glass Half Full: My Derby Weekend

For Derby weekend this past weekend I used one of my free Rapid Rewards tickets to take a random trip down to Bowling Green. It was a great weekend full of naps, horse racing and a 13 mile run with a few old friends to kick things off. However as the weekend began to wind down, things got a little interesting.

I was out at Puerto's celebrating Megan's roommate Chelea turning 21. While there I get a text from my mom saying "you may want to check the weather for Nashville tomorrow, it could be bad." Seeing how mom had a tendency to be more scared and wearisome of weather elements than I have ever been, I put my phone away and didn't think twice about what she said.

Then I watched CNN an hour later.

As the television showed a mobile home floating down I-24, I then realized mom had a legit concern. Then I realized that I actually do fly out of Nashville and that this directly impacted me. I sent an email from my phone to my boss Alisa saying "as I type this, I'm watching a house float down the interstate in Nashville. That being said, getting to the airport to fly back to Chicago could prove problematic tomorrow. I'll keep you posted." I then went on with the night keeping a loose eye on the weather reports knowing there wasn't a lot I could do about it right then.

I got up the next morning and starting planning my next actions. Mom and dad suggested me flying out of Louisville. It was a great idea that I hadn't thought of. Yet, it was Derby weekend so getting a flight out of Louisville wouldn't really be possible for that Sunday. Not knowing what to expect, I called Southwest and tried to work something out. Fortunately for me, they were able to get me on another flight out of Louisville - at no extra charge - the next afternoon. After telling work that I was stranded and that was my next quickest way out, I was granted permission to work remotely for the first half of the day until I arrived at the office.

It was a hectic weekend logistically but some good came out of it. I did get an extra day with my fiancee and saw my parents that Sunday night for dinner. Life had thrown me a curveball but threw some extra blessings my way as well. Looking at the glass half full.

Nashville has been hit hard however. They had a flood of what dad calls "biblical proportions." I told my boss "I knew it was supposed to rain this weekend but not like that!" They have endured a lot over the weekend but looking at what they have done as a community, you have to commend them. From looking outside in, they seem to have really rallied together to take all the necessary steps for water conservation and raising as much awareness for their predicament as possible despite the lack of coverage from the national press. Nashville has a long tough road ahead but I like the way they've handled things so far.