A request to the Icelandic volcano

Dear Eyjafjallajökull,

I know that you have been under a lot of pressure for a very long time and I am glad that you have finally been able to blow off some steam. Everyone needs a good meltdown or explosion once in a while.

However, it would make my life much easier at the moment if you would just calm down and take a nice deep breath. I have been keeping an eye on you for a while and hoping that you didn't get too rowdy. When you erupt and send your hot ash into the air it affects not only the people of Iceland but the people of the rest of Europe as well. The ash that you shoot high into the air solidifies into tiny crystals once it is in the atmosphere. These crystals then get sucked into jet engines and when this happens, the extreme heat from the combustion within the engine causes the crystals to melt just like glass. Then the molten crystals clog said engines and cause them to shut down mid-flight. See, I understand what happens and how it happens so I will not complain about flights being cancelled because it is something that is out of my control.

You see, I have a final tomorrow at 9:00 AM. I have to get my two very heavy suitcases and one not-so-heavy box to the post office right after. I need to be on a bus and in Dublin by 6:00 PM. Don't worry, you are not messing this part of my plans up, but I am becoming a bit distressed because as of right now, the Glasgow-Prestwick airport is closed, and this is where I am supposed to be arriving on Wednesday evening. I am becoming conflicted over whether or not I should go ahead and cancel my flight and hop on a ferry and then a train/bus or if I should just wait it out. Also, if I cancel my flight, I won't need to ship the box with half of my clothes in it to Erin's flat because I wouldn't have to worry about meeting Ryanair's strict 10 kg cabin baggage policy.

Do you see how this is troubling me? I am not blaming you nor am I judging you. Temper tantrums happen (believe me-I perfected them.) However, I would be forever grateful if you would calm down just a bit so that flights in Irish and UK airspace can resume by Tuesday.

Thank you,

Sarah