Panic!

Yesterday was another one to add to my trove of memories. My mom has been away from home for a month and a delegation of people were at the airport to pick her up yesterday. The flight arrival time: 3.30pm.

I called at 4.30pm to speak with her and i was told she wasnt out yet. My sister had already told me that she had extra bags (typical) so i figured all the bags werent out yet. At 6pm, she still wasnt out and there was still no word from her. I called my sister who confirmed that she was indeed on that flight and had no other information. By 8pm, we all panicking. We called the airline and they were closed with no other means of getting information. The people at the airport couldnt get any additional information and after speaking with police and other officials in the airport, we ascertained that she was not on that flight.

My dad and I were frantic with worry. My other sister confirmed that my mom called her just as the flight was supposed to leave JFK. So we deduced that the problem had to have arisen between JFK - Amsterdam, or on the Amsterdam - Lagos leg. My mom is one strong woman but she is also diabetic and sometimes forgets to take her medicine. Could she have passed out or gotten ill somewhere along the way?

What were we going to do? My dad got in touch with some people and got a number for the airport in Amsterdam. He called and was directed to KLM's desk there. Understanding us was an issue so he was told to call back when someone that could understand english adequately was on hand. We were frantic with worry and from my previous post about loss, you can imagine how i felt.

I then suggested that we call Richard the travel agent. Yes it was late but maybe he would be able to go back to their office and log onto their system and track her using the manifest or something. My mother was missing dammit. We were prepared to go to his house and pick him up and take him to his office...Do anything to make sure we got some answers.

Richard answered the phone very sleepily. As i cried on the phone and told him my mother was missing and we needed his help immediately, he was quiet. He then interrupted me and said :But madam is coming back tomorrow.

Huh? Apparently, we got it all wrong. Her layover in Amsterdam is pretty long but she gets back at 3.30pm TODAY.

Go figure......My dad and i after getting our hearts under control started to laugh and laugh. We could not believe it. We checked her itinerary she left us and there it was in black and white: November 2nd.

She will get a huge kick out of this tonight.....