The old lady hobbled as fast as she was able but as she failed to get close to her destination she felt hopeless. Part of her wanted to just sit down and cry while part of her knew that she had to persist or find herself stranded. She just kept putting one foot in front of the other moving as quickly as her knees would allow her to do. 

The journey had begun in San Antonio, Texas for a trip to South Bend, Indiana where she watched her grandson graduate from Notre Dame. The next leg of the trip would take her and her family to Detroit and from their they would fly into Portland, Maine. Her husband had been worried about the Detroit layover because it was a quick transition and he wondered if they might find themselves being left behind by a flight that had to stay on schedule. 

The South Bend airport was rather quiet compared to others that the old lady had seen. She felt somewhat serene and confident as she waited to board the plane. It did not even bother her when they seemed to be frantically searching for the flight crew that had not yet shown up for the trip. Little did she realize that the entire schedule had been thrown off kilter because that crew was waiting at the wrong gate. 

There was a sense of urgency once the crew was in place and the passengers began to board. The pilot knew that the flight was behind schedule and everyone suddenly felt caught up in a kind of whirlwind. The lady still had no idea what was to come and how difficult the next leg of the trip would be. 

She had undergone surgery to replace one of her knees only four months before. The doctor had told her that a complete recovery would take anywhere from six months to a year but she had worked hard at her exercise routine and felt confident that her new knee would serve her well in any situation. Her other knee was set for surgery in the future but it worked well enough to keep her moving. She settled into her seat at the back of the plane confident that she would be just fine for the walk in the Detroit airport but her confidence was going to be challenged. 

The plane from South Bend arrived late. The passengers going to Portland had five minutes to get to the next gate before it would close. It sounded doable until the old lady realized that the gate was at the farthest distance from where the plane had landed. She understood that she would have to move more quickly than she had for some time. Running was not yet possible but fast walking was the only way that she would not be left stranded in Detroit. 

The younger members of her family raced ahead hoping to convince the agents to wait for the elderly woman who was coming as fast as her knees would allow her to move. Her husband was just ahead of her with his longer stride for most of the journey but before long her knees began to scream at her to stop and she fell farther and farther away from him. As her frustration mounted she had to take deep breaths to keep from bursting into tears. All the while she watched the time pass one minute after another on her watch. When she had been rushing for five minutes she was still far from her destination and she worried felt like giving up but she had always been a determined person and she somehow found the grit to carry on. 

She kept counting the gates as she passed them. One and then another and another. Her destination seemed to be moving farther and farther away. She began to grumble about the crew that was late. She wondered why the airline would expect anyone to go so far from one gate to another. She oscillated between anger and self pity. She began to imagine herself just sitting down in protest of her ridiculous situation and then she sighted her son-in-law waving her on from the gate. He had convinced the agent to keep the door open just a bit more in expectation of an elderly lady limping her way the the finish line. She had done it and she suddenly felt like one of those people who keep going in a marathon on sheer will even though they will be that last persons across the finish line.

She huffed and puffed as she boarded the plane and found her seat. She thought of the good doctor who had given her a knee that actually worked. She smiled at the many times that her physical therapist had pushed her beyond comfort zone. She congratulated herself on all of the hard work that she had been doing from the first moments after her knee surgery and she felt like a champion. 

In a couple of hours the woman and her crew were driving around Portland looking for a place to eat lunch. Everyone was trying to find an inexpensive place but she knew that it was time to celebrate. She insisted that the repast would be her gift to everyone and they ended up feasting on one of the most delicious seafood and fine wine that any of them had ever had. Suddenly she did not feel so old after all.