Trip Update/EOG Day 3

Whoa.
I've told y'all before that I don't really cry, right? Well heeyy, buddy, every once in a while I really trash that rule. Like today.
EOGs? Done. Editing? THOUGHT I knew what I was doing, but I went down to the library to knock it out and get on the road, and everybody was interested in getting their own stuff done. Understandably. Plus, I don't ask questions after I feel I've been shut down, whether it's true or not. But basically I got little direction on what to do, and I didn't even really know what questions to ask other than, "Uh...what do I do?"
Long story short, I was on my own, about to cry from the stress, when a fellow 1st-year teacher walked over and offered to help. She is my new best friend for sure.
We're both sitting there wading through tests, hoping and praying (more praying as time went on) that we're not screwing things up or breaking laws or causing the dreaded m i s a d m i n i s t r a t i o n (though I think it's too late for that), and I ask questions of some teachers at a neighboring table every now and then. It was kind of awful.
We finish pretty soon with what I think I'm supposed to be doing, and I take my stuff up front to get it checked twice. Thankfully my dear friend Susan, the guidance counselor, is checking materials, and she knows how badly I need to leave. I know she can tell I'm freaking out because at this point, I'm talking as little as possible so no one notices that my voice keeps breaking.
Unfortunately, I think Susan expects asking questions will take my mind off the time crunch. Did I tell you, by the way, that I've never flown by myself and I have no idea where I'm going and I always get to the airport at least two hours early and I'm 20 mins from the airport and my flight LEAVES at 6:05 and it's currently 4:22?!?! Yes, I believe that is indeed what I'd call a crunch.
I did some relaxation breathing to suck the saline back into my eyes, and I literally felt like I was gonna puke all over the testing materials and once again cause a m i s a d m i n i s t r a t i o n.
--hold on, about to depart--more later--
Back to where I left off, I felt like I was gonna puke, Susan was kindly but uncomfortably asking questions, and my #2 checker was going far too slow for my taste, though she was sweetly asking questions as well. They finally finish, I hand over my TAM, grab my keys, and practically RUN to my room. I gather my stuff, head for the door, and remember--I never printed my flight information.
I SWANNEE. I can't tell you how many times I said a very vulgar three-word curse in my head today. I already feel terrible about thinking it at all, and if I knew the actual number of times, I don't know that I could face my parents tonight.
I print my stuff, rush to my car, get it in gear, and...cry. And cry and cry and cry. I cried the whole way to the airport, stopping only at lights just in case I saw a parent who might gossip about their child's unstable teacher. Because we're talking body-rocking sobs that don't end when I look in the mirror (I usually stop crying by telling myself how ugly and silly I look).
--gotta go again--
I drive into the long-term lot to park and find that there are loads of cars there, parked even along the edges of the streets in the lot. I finally find a space just about as far away as possible. I walk toward the airport just to discover that if I'd driven a bit farther, just beyond my spot, I would have reached a barely-full and closer-to-the-airport extension of the lot.
I check in--OH WAIT I forgot to tell you that as soon as I pulled on the main road by school a state trooper pulled a U-ey across the median and started following me so I bawled even HARDER and went 53 in a 55 as I was worrying about running late--so I check in and sit down at the terminal 15 mins before boarding the plane, and I didn't even do my pre-flight bathroom ritual because I was so nervous.
Thank goodness the woman sitting next to me on the plane was a sweetheart. She lives in town but was on her way to Florida, where she grew up, and we talked about all kinds of stuff. Turns out her son is a high school math teacher at Central, about 10 mins from my parents' house. So overall it was a good flight, even though we were delayed takeoff thanks to Charlotte's slowness.
Of course, this delay caused me to have 5 minutes to get from gate E6 to C12 (about a 15-minute brisk walk) in order to board. I decided to use the bathroom before I could see the gate--otherwise I never would have gone. I tore my thumbnail right next to the skin in the process, and it totally ruined my nail. :-(
I get out to the gate only to find that the passengers haven't even gotten off the plane yet. We have to wait for them to service the plane as well. However, a positive?--watching the cute guy standing in front of me who's nice to people who ask him questions, and he has clean fungus-free feet.
This flight wasn't so bad either after we finally got off the ground. Okay, you know that Amtrak commercial where the kid's playing with a plane and he says "You are 14th in line for takeoff"? Well...the day is getting better and better. We were TWENTIETH in line for takeoff, and they used the same runway for arrivals, too. We were on the ground for forEVER. After that, we had an even longer flight anyway thanks to having to circumvent bad weather. In the end, I left the airport an hour late (11:20), having only had a Butterfinger and a cup of Sprite since noon.
First time flying alone? Check. Super outrageous day? Double check.