Last day in Atlanta and found myself a perfect little spot for a slice of sunshine. The inside of the building was packed, in contrast to the outdoor area on the fourth floor, without a single soul...but me. I sat alone, but wasn't lonely at all as I enjoyed the warmth, sunshine and landscaped greenery. I kicked my shoes off, put my face in the direction of the sun, closed my eyes, the glare so bright and beautiful. I had checked out of my hotel, or might have considered skipping my last sessions and heading to the pool...but kept on course. I left my sweet spot to attend a fascinating session about the loneliness epidemic. Interesting stats on what generations feel the least connected. My Generation X not on the scale, since we apparently feel the most socially connected of all the generations and are least likely to suffer from loneliness. I watched the vendor area being packed up and found myself with hours to go and nothing to do before heading to the airport. Everyone told me to catch an Uber back to the airport, what! Us Gen X folks may feel connected but are a bit too cautious to get into a car with a stranger, having been warned our entire lives about stranger danger. Uber feels like paid hitchhiking to me, how can this be a thing? Finding myself in this conundrum I figured I'd sit at the bar and ponder my decisions over a glass of wine. I sat down next to a woman and immediately introduced myself..shocking I know. She was also there for the conference, from California, and heading to the airport as well. She laughed at my concern about the Uber ride, offering me a ride to the airport with her..yes, in her Uber. Although, hours before I needed to arrive, I took her up on the offer, ready to get home and eager for a shared ride, safety in numbers! She and I collected our bags, traveled to the airport, through security and found our way to our gates together. Atlanta airport happens to be the largest airport in the world...yes world, so having a friend to navigate with was nice. We had time for a nice dinner together before her plane left for sunny Cali. and I went from gate to gate as they changed my location three times. I boarded my flight and was off, exhausted and ready to be home, also wondering why the heck I selected such a late flight, landing in RI just after midnight. Happy to be back in RI and eager to get home quickly, I paid for my parking and walked out to the garage...looking for my car. Looking, looking...where the heck was my car? I'd like to say it only took me a few minutes to realize I had parked and walked onto the second floor and my return had me coming out the first floor, but it took me an embarrassingly long time to discover my mistake. I wandered through the garage, eyes searching for a silver Lexus but not seeing one in sight. As I searched I wondered what the heck I was doing, alone in a garage in the middle of the night, clearly I've seen too many crime shows to know this was not a safe situation!! I decided to retrace my steps, walking all the way back inside with my suitcase behind me. Once inside it was clear I needed to go up the escalator then out and around to the garage...phew! I found my car, parked exactly where I left it and was on my way. You'd think it would have stressed me out but instead I chuckled at myself, wandering through a garage in the middle of the night, confused and clearly more vulnerable than I'd normally ever allow myself to be. Once secure in my car, I turned on my seat warmers and headed home sweet home. Tim was sound asleep but Peps greeted me at the door and all was right with my world.
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