Unexpected - but welcome - houseguests. Pay it forward.

If you don't already know, the whole of W. WA state has been hit really hard with snow and ice. Last night DBF and I were watching the news, which was showing pics of all the stranded people at the airport. It broke our hearts to see all the people who were stranded, and likely will be for the next few days. People wre exhausted, hungry, tired, and at their wit's end.

The first guaranteed flights out are 12/27.

We decided to do something about it. We loaded up our car with blankets, and left the house around 11:30 p.m. It had been snowing for hours and the roads were deep with snow.

The airport is about 20-25 miles from our house. It took us an hour to get there but we made it safely. I went inside while DBF stayed in the car.

I was looking for someone to bring home with me.

I eventually found an elderly couple on their way home to Canada from Mexico, where they over-winter. They were traveling with their little dog and had just hunkered down in a corner of the airport to spend the night. When I offered them a bed for the night, the wife lit up: she has asthma and the cold of the airport was doing her in. The husband is recovering from a recent back injury.

We loaded them into our car. It was 2:30a by the time we got home.

They spent last night and all day today at our home. What's funny is that I had fresh bread, a ham, biscotti, and all kinds of goodies perfect for guests. I guess it was meant to be to host these people for the past day!

They've purchased train/bus tickets to complete the final leg of their journey. We're hopeful for them that the train/bus service is back up and running again, as cancellations have been par for the course. We're taking them to the train station in a couple of hours, and won't leave them until they are guaranteed seats.

It feels awesome and so humbling to pay it forward.