A pre-flight wine flight did wonders for my acceptance of our delayed departure. The seat-back digital button pusher and screaming infant immediately behind me, however, were trying my patience.

The storm was moving in quickly and, despite the crew’s urging to board swiftly in order to beat the weather, the usual passenger dawdling ensued. As we pushed back from the gate and made our way out to the tarmac, the rain wasted no time pummeling our plane. Lightning and thunder were seconds behind, and we were grounded.

It never ceases to amaze me how irritated and crotchety people can become over a weather delay. Yes, I’d like to be on my way, too, but would prefer to arrive home alive — not in a body bag.

We finally received word from the cockpit that our lift-off would ultimately come an hour and ten minutes after our scheduled time. I settled into my seat and made myself comfy, mesmerized as I watched the bands of rain pass by my window one after another. Planes lined up next to us, wing to wing; the formation was beautiful, and we all sat patiently.

When we were finally on our way, we were swallowed up by gray, which then gave way to billowy white clouds. Soon, we were surrounded by bright blue, with all the turbulence below us. It’s not every day we see such a strong parallel to our own lives, but today was one of those days.

Today I am thankful for knowing that the rough times don’t last forever, and that blue skies will fill our lives once again. People may push our buttons and test our patience along the way, but bad weather always moves on and delays aren’t the end of the world. Here’s to enjoying the good times when we have them, and finding a positive takeaway from the bad.

Here’s to all our minutes.