OmegaMom

We got on the plane in Anchorage…the sun was low down on the horizon and beginning to set.

The dotter behaved beautifully all day long.  In the morning, when our petsitter arrived to "practice" with the dawg (we haven’t received any frantic phone calls yet, so I’m guessing things have gone okay).  During the quick stop at OmegaDad’s office so we could print out the itinerary and various confirmation numbers.  At the airport.  In the plane.  All the way.  She was awesome.  We were pleased (and relieved).

The flight stopped at Sea-Tac, we deplaned and replaned, and OmegaDad leaned over to me and whispered, "That young lady is traveling by herself."  I knew exactly who he was discussing:  the pre-teen brunette with the slightly excited air, who was sitting a few rows ahead of us and on the other side of the aisle.

When we deplaned in the Valley of Death at oh-dark-thirty, tired and running on empty, as we exited the jetway, we saw a small head peering from around the doorway.  As we got closer, I realized it was a small Asian head, attached to a small Asian girl about the size/age as the dotter.  We headed into the gate area, to an empty, echoing area devoid of people, except for a woman in the distance.  OmegaDad and I glanced at the girl, glanced at the woman, assumed they were together, and headed on, trudging wearily to the baggage claim, with visions of a bed at the hotel luring us forwards.

We get to baggage claim, and OmegaDad decamps for the little boy’s room, OmegaDotter snuggled up beside me on the bench (I think, I honestly can’t remember at this point!) and we zoned out.

I see in the distance the lady with the little Asian girl and the cute pre-teen and one of those bag-carrier thingummies.  She comes closer and smiles, and says, "Excuse me…are you by any chance…"

Mentally I’m already finishing the sentence:

"…are you by any chance part of the Phoenix FCC?"

"…is your daughter by any chance from China/Korea/Vietnam?"

Or something similar–the kind of encounter you become accustomed to, where you have a quick meet-and-greet of someone who has a family similar to yours, recognition of commanality in the middle of an empty airport.

And then she knocks my socks off by saying:

"Are you by any chance OmegaMom?  I read your blog all the time!"

WHOA!

NO SHIT?!  Someone is asking me if I’m my blog persona?!  In an international airport?!

Holy cow!

This was such an amazing ego-boo I can’t describe it.  A shot in the emotional arm.  An OMG-I’m-blushing moment like you wouldn’t believe.  I have a real, live reader!!!  (Okay, of course I know I have real, live readers, and have actually met a few on purpose, but this was my very first chance encounter and way kewl.)

This is, obviously, one of the reasons actors act and pop singers sing:  Just to get that zingy ego-boost out of nowhere.

We chatted; I asked her if she had a blog (no) or had commented, and she said, "Oh, no, I’m just a lurker, but I read you all the time."  The lovely young pre-teen was her niece, visiting from the bush, and her daughter was, indeed, exactly OmegaDotter’s age and also from China.

So, to my nameless fan:  Hi!  I’m sorry I didn’t talk more, and wasn’t more prepared, but we were honest to goodness almost staggering with exhaustion and the ol’ brain cells weren’t firing quite right.  And I just wanted to tell you that your greeting was truly appreciated and made me feel all warm-n-fuzzy.  Shout out in the comments!

So we’re here.  We chowed down at our favorite dim sum restaurant in the Valley of Death, then stopped at Trader Joe’s to grab some stuff for OmegaGranny, and headed up the hill.  I soaked in the sunlight, and felt the fifty kazillion knots of tension and misery in my back easing off.  OmegaDad eyeballed the clouds and voiced his sincere hope that he’ll be able to tell his coworkers, when asked, that it snowed every damned day we were in Arizona.  Har.

The sun has been up since 7:30.  It’s almost 5, and the sun hasn’t set yet.  I’ve hugged my mamasan like she hasn’t been hugged in a long time, and same for Unka Bill.  Cousin R. has made it here and is relaxing in her hotel room for a bit, and then we’re off for dinner.

Great-Grandma’s 104th birthday was two days ago; I thought it was yesterday (my mnemonic is Pearl Harbor Day–but I left out the "day before" clause in my memory).  A post about her tomorrow.

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