My first trip “across the pond” was drawing to a close, and I was thrilled. Thrilled to have spent a week on my own in England, and thrilled to be headed home. The plan was to take a bus from Oxford to London, make a quick tube trip from Paddington to Gatwick, then board my return flight to Houston. I’d checked the bus schedule the day before, and arrived on foot at the bus stop with what I thought were only minutes to spare.
But the minutes kept ticking by, and no bus. When I examined the schedule again, I realized that I’d written down the weekday departure times…and it was Saturday. So, I did what I had not done once in the previous ten days. I panicked. What if I couldn’t get to the city in time? What if I missed my flight? What if I had to spend the night in London?