Once I was ready to join the John Maxwell Team, I did not waste time. I made travel arrangements to be in Orlando, Florida the following week and went. 

Because the hotel where the certification was taking place was sold out, I stayed at an affiliate hotel and a van was provided for mine and other members transportation to and from the main facility. 

They were long days filled with many sessions, but I learned A LOT and made many new friends. 

I missed my family, my home, my dog, and my community; but I would not miss this event for anything. 

Was I scared. Yes!

I was scared I would not remember it all, so I wrote down as much as I could.

I was scared I would not make my connecting flights. Not having enough time to plan, I thought I had given myself enough time. Which I had and had not done.

If I had not injured my knee four months earlier that required me to have surgery a month after injury but three months before the trip, I would have had to walk through the airport terminal not knowing my way around and not remembering how to get around either. So, had I not injured my knee, I definitely did not give myself enough time to catch my connecting flights.

But I did injure my knee. I did have surgery. Because of this, I signed up for wheelchair service to take me through the terminal. 

I relied on the airport staff to meet me at the plane with a wheelchair, and push me through the crowds already knowing where my next flight would be waiting.

At the time I injured my knee I did not know the benefit of having the injury. Months later at the airport, I was very thankful for the injury and for the airport staff.

I was also grateful that the staff at the John Maxwell certification event provided a chair for me to rest my leg on.

Did I take advantage of the staff at both locations? No. My injury takes approximately a year to heal. At the time I traveled, I was only three months into the process. I was walking, but not well. I could not walk fast and I was still being careful not to re-injure my knee.  There was no way possible for me to have been able to walk through the terminal in a timely manner. The walk was simply too long for that time in my recovery.

Today I occasionally have trouble with my knee. Especially after long periods of time of inactivity due to me sitting at my desk steadily working away preparing a book for publication. I do my best to stay active to keep my knee and other previously injured portions of my body from losing ground, but it is not always possible.

Life is like the weather. Sometimes it’s nice, sometimes it’s not, and there is a wide range of in between. Sometimes the days are predictable, but most days are not. But no matter what the weather is like, we have to do our best to move forward.