Worry

I'm very worried because my sister Mary is going to the Dominican Republic with her friend... just the two of them! Ok, well I'm actually not worried, but I should be. Let me tell you why.

You see, Mary is the middle child and I am the big sister, and that's why I'm worried. Whenever we do "big" things, I am the one to drive, or navigate the map, or talk to the airport clerk, or ask for help, or whatever... Mary is very happy with just sitting back and following whatever I do. She is actually really smart because it's so much easier the way she does it. She doesn't worry about a thing. She does as she's told.

Anyways, the thing is, Mary is the one who is in the "leader" position this time. Beth is just like Mary, but more clueless in this situation. Beth has only flown once and she drives like a grandmother. (We tell her that she drives like a grandmother, so I'm not talking behind her back.) At any rate, Mary is the one who drove to Atlanta tonight. Beth has never been in the Atlanta airport before, and Mary has never had a layover before. Beth has never driven through Atlanta before, and Mary has never driven through it alone without getting lost. It's Beth's first time out of the country, and Mary didn't know what customs was when I asked her about it.

Anyways, all of the above things, they are doing tonight and tomorrow, just the two of them!

Tonight, they drove to Atlanta to stay in a hotel, and their flight leaves tomorrow at 8 am. They will be flying to Ft. Lauderdale and then going to the Dominican Republic to meet Beth's sister who is doing mission work there for the semester. They are very excited, and Mary wasn't at all nervous... Typical.

With all of that being said, Mary is clueless, but she's not really the type to be worried about being clueless. (I know this as a fact after our almost-plane-crash that didn't seem to phase Mary.) She just goes with the flow, and it somehow works out for her. And that's why none of us are worried about her. It's been four hours since Mary left, and we haven't heard from her. She won't answer her phone (typical) but I'm sure she's fine... Hopefully she's getting tucked into her hotel room in her last comfy bed for a while. I'm jealous, on the other hand, about the 80 degree weather that she is going to enjoy. There are positives and negatives, but I hope she experiences all of the positives and gets home in time for Christmas!  If not, I'm sure she'll roll with it. So I will keep on not being worried. But, I will pray for her!

UPDATE: I got a text from Mary tonight that said, "Pray that we're safe tonight! Because we're in a creepy hotel alone in the ghetto."

I almost panicked for them, and I called Dad and told him, and he said, "Well, I guess you better pray!" (He was concerned, but he thought that they would be fine if they lock the door.)

I replied with two text messages. 1. Mary, I'll pray. Are you scared? 2. Have you locked the chain on your door?

Mary said, "Yeah we kinda are... But it's okay! We locked it!

And I replied, 1. "Just bring your mace with you in the morning and throw it away before security. I'm sure you'll be fine. Press 0 in your hotel if you need anything."  2. "Does your shuttle pick you up from your hotel in the morning?"

And I never got an answer to either text. (Not that I should really expect one since it's Mary.) Anyways, I'm praying for them. If it had been me there, I would have gotten a refund from the hotel and took out money from my savings to pay for a different hotel in a better part of town.... Because if Mary thinks it's creepy, there is no way I would have gotten a minute of sleep. I'd be making my escape plan in my head all night, sleeping with my phone in my bed and replying to each and every text message that I recieved. I wish I were more like her. Anyways, pray for her if you get a minute!