Traveling, mushing and suitcases…Day 1

When you arrive at a new destination it is common that people ask you how your flight was.  How was your travel day?  I always take that question like I have to share something that went wrong.  Did I hit traffic going to the airport?  No. Was my flight delayed and I had to wait 3 extra hours before it took off? No. The best one… Did I make my connecting flight only because I was sprinting through the airport?  No, again.  How about I share a good experience of my travel day to beautiful Alaska. 

When I arrived in Anchorage and was standing at the baggage claim carousel, I was not seeing my two suitcases. I was not seeing my suitcases which is a bad thing when you are 3,000 miles away from home.  I LOVED, however, that my first reaction was not of panic but of composure and thinking…I’ll figure out where my suitcases are.  After watching a few more rotations of all the bags still left on the baggage carousel, I calmly went over to the little office by baggage claim, and there, sitting on the ground in front of the office, were my suitcases!  Whew!  I let the man behind the counter know I was taking them and found out my suitcases had taken an earlier flight to Alaska than me!  My good experience is that my attitude stayed positive in the midst of 10 minutes of “where are my suitcases” uncertainty. 

Mushers take things in stride all the time.  They pack their sleds like I packed my suitcases. They plan their race start/stop schedule just like I plan my flight times.  But when something unexpected happens, like a sled runner is shredded because of lack of snow on the trail, a musher is not surprised by this problem but is ready to fix it and keep going. If a musher can keep going for 1,000 miles and solve issues due to nature and weather,  I can certainly wait calmly for a few more rotations of the baggage claim carousel only to find my suitcases safely waiting for me.  Keeping a positive attitude when the unexpected happens is a key ingredient for a musher’s success and the Iditarod’s success over these past 50 years.   

Happy 50th Anniversary Iditarod!  I am so glad I’m here to celebrate this amazing race, incredible mushers and sled dogs and dedicated volunteers……with my two suitcases.  

Teachers:

Class Meeting question:  How can we prepare our reactions so when the unexpected happens (at recess, on a sports team, in our classrooms, with our friends) we can respond with positive attitudes and a can-do spirit.