A Trip to the Airport

Yesterday I was taking Sheri to the airport.  She's spending a few days in "The Big Apple" with four of her girlfriends.  Her flight was leaving at 8:20.  Since the Des Moines airport is relatively easy to navigate, we figured we'd be good if she got there at 7:30.  Since we live less than five miles from the airport, we left the house at 7:10.  After all, it's a 10-minute drive but it was rush hour.  We pull to the end of the driveway and "Bam!  There's a crane truck parked right in the middle of our street on one end and, the other end is closed (big sewer project...long story).  I immediately begin to weigh the options.  Do I drive up on the unfinished sidewalk to get around this thing?  Can I pull into my neighbor's driveway and then cut across the grass.  Neither of these seemed to be an option because it had rained hard the day before and, I might get stuck in the mud.  Oh wait.  I could go home and get the Jeep because then I wouldn't have to worry about the mud.  Sheri, meanwhile, went and asked the crane operator how long they were going to be.  "5-10 minutes" was the reply.  OK.  problem solved.  We wait and then we're on our way.  We'd already planned and extra 10 minutes for the unexpected.

Once the crane moved, Sheri says "Now, I know this is against your nature but, I need you to drive like a madman."  Out of sheer habit, I say "Yes Dear." and then proceed to drive the speed limit.  I'm doing 40 miles an hour down the road and calculating in my head that if I do 50, I could shave about a minute off the trip.  So, we're going along and Sheri says "You just got passed by an old, white-haired man."  "Yes," I replied "but the one sure way to miss your flight is for me to get a speeding ticket."  So I kept going 40 and bottom line: She made her flight.

Now.  What's my point?  Don't be influenced by outside forces when it comes to your money.  The old, white-haired guy passed me more than once.  So, that means, at some point, I passed him.  Focus on the plan.  My goal was to get Sheri to the airport on time without taking unnecessary risks.  Guess what?  It worked!  The crane, Sheri's advice to "drive like a madman", and the old white-haired guy were merely distractions from my ultimate goal.