Missed Connections

There is nothing worse than just barely missing your bus or train or the connecting bus/train or accidentally going to the wrong stop.  So so frustrating.  Saturday morning was full of all of these things and it was so incredibly frustrating.
Josie had to be at swim practice by 9AM.  This was the first time to this particular pool so Benjamin and I went with her to help her find it.  It was also the morning after the first night that Marty had been gone and I slept worse than normal.  Speaking of Marty being gone, his trip back to Seattle was interesting.  We are both very independent people and I have never really been that bothered by him being gone in the past and granted, neither of us travel or are away from home much without the other but this time felt different for both of us.  Since arriving in Berlin we have had to rely on each other like never before.  We also have spent a lot more time together than ever before.  We have met a few new friends here and there but really our family of 4 and certainly for Marty and I - we are each others whole social network.  So to have him be gone shook me up a bit.  I remember we both felt the same way at the end of our honeymoon.  We had spent 2 wonderful weeks together in Madrid, San Sebastian, Bilbao and Barcelona.  At the end of the two weeks Marty flew home to Seattle and I stayed for another 2 weeks in Spain to travel and take a language course.  I had traveled solo plenty times in my past and didn't think twice about it until the morning when he flew to Seattle and I flew to Sevilla.  We were both in tears.  In hindsight it was a very good trip for me and after the first day or two I had a great time and am thankful for it as it was my last solo trip before Josie arrived about a year later.  But.. I have to say the first day or so of Marty being gone from Berlin felt nearly the same way.  Like a piece of me was missing.
Yet with a foggy head from lack of sleep and a bit unsure of how I was going to manage for a week here without him and without someone to translate everything for me, the kids and I ended up having a good
breakfast and a decent morning and then we were out the door by 8:15.  We somehow missed the first bus. But it should have been fine because I usually give us a 10-15 minute cushion.  The bus finally comes and we get off at the correct stop and here is where my second major error occurred.  From my map it looked like we were to cross the street, twice.  We make it and the bus comes but then I realize it was going in the wrong direction.
There are about 2 or 3 buses and stops that I know really well and could get anywhere taking them.  Heck, I even know their time schedules.  There are probably 2 s-bahn trains/stations that I know really well and also 2 or 3 U-bahn trains/stations that I know.  But on Saturday we were taking a new bus in a new direction and I went to the wrong stop. So in the time it took to cross the street incorrectly and then back over to the correct side (it is a huge 4-way lighted intersection) we missed the connecting bus to the pool.
Meanwhile Josie is freaking out because A) She doesn't want to be late to practice and B) she doesn't want to swim in her first swim meet the next day.
In her defense, they haven't told her much about the rules or what to expect.  I'm sure it will all become second nature after the first meet but she is afraid of the unknown,  as we all are.
We both have a bit of a melt down.  We all regroup. We get on the correct bus and arrive at the pool 15 minutes late.  The pool, by the way, is beautiful.  It is a 50 meter pool and I decide then and there that this will be "my pool"
Benjamin and I tell Josie goodbye and she heads into practice and Benjamin and I head to a nearby park.  Not 2 minutes after arriving he runs over and says with a panicked voice "I have to go poop"  Well, isn't that just the capper for the morning.  There aren't really any public bathrooms anywhere near the park, or anywhere in Berlin for that matter, so we head back to the pool.  Then we hang out in front for the rest of the practice.  Thankfully it was a beautifully sunny day.  Sun makes everything better.
She has a good practice.  They practice diving off the starting blocks a lot and when practice is over she feels much better about the meet the following day.
We only have to wait about 10 minutes for the bus to take us home and the sunshine really does make everything better.  The kids collect chestnuts and Marty has woken up in Seattle in the middle of the night there due to jet lag but we text with him a bit and then head home.  The way home is much calmer and peaceful than the way there.  And now I know another bus line and the correct stop to wait at which I didn't know before.  Seriously, every single day there is something new to be learned even if it is just a new bus line and new bus stop. Live and learn and try to do better every day.