Usually, one goes on a vacation with a set idea in mind of what they are looking for; Be it relaxation, excitement, stunning new sights or immersion into a new culture, to deviate from the plan you have in mind would make the trip a disaster.
I had a once in a lifetime opportunity, a trip to Amsterdam, compliments of a sales competition at my place of employment.
It was a solo trip, first time to have one actually. For me to be alone for any length of time without kids, husband, my parents, work or any distractions what-so-ever was a novelty. I was struggling with what I was going to do with myself, but I realized I would take the opportunity to enjoy the much needed time away.
I had it planned out as much as one could, from time to do laundry, to pack properly, to how I was getting to the hotel from the airport and what excursions I would take. This trip would be the reset I’ve needed for a few years.
But careful planning wasn’t going to save me from the incidentals of life.
- 24 hours to take off: the worst wind storm I had ever witnessed in my life.
The power was out, and as I walked to my backdoor to watch the storm my shed quite literally blew up, up, up and away. Then I realized that my basement was at risk of flooding so I had to leave said shed to flop about aimlessly while I bailed out my sump pit.
- 12 hours to take off: power was back
I couldn’t do the laundry fast enough. So I took other clothes and purchased a few with the limited time I had before I beelined to the airport.
- 7.5 hours of flight with one very restless tiny human who used my chair as a kicking bag = no sleep.
I’m the type of person you don’t wake up in the morning. Sleep is paramount to my mood and ability to function as a normal human. The tiny human behind me – and their parents – didn’t seem to care about that.
- 10 mins arriving at the hotel “ma’am do you have another card we can try?”
No credit cards would work, even though I had called ahead and was told it wouldn’t be a problem.
- Day 1 ironing out the details
I used the iron in the room only to discover there was sticky stuff on the iron itself… and now melted into the brand new shirt I had just bought the day before.
- Day 2 dead phone
my phone decided that was the time it would no longer work, and it happened to be my mode of figuring out where I was via google maps.
- Day 3 I realized I didn’t bring a backup camera
So no phone and no camera??? Hyperventilating even writing this out.
- Day 4 food poisoning
So sometimes you should take the advice of flight attendants and eat the food they advise in their country.
- Day 5 flyback day – squished
My seat on my flight back was sandwiched between two larger individuals and the seats were very tiny. Cramped is putting it lightly.
- 30 minutes into the flight home: broken earphones
The earphone adapter given to you when you fly was broken, with no ability to listen to the in-flight movie I was left to entertain myself for 7.5 hours while attempting to possibly sleep.
I’ll tell you one thing. There was more that went WRONG then RIGHT with this trip but something else happened. Something amazing that wouldn’t have happened if these events hadn’t occurred.
I had no choice but to let everything go, and to smile through it.
I learned I can laugh anything and everything off. Really. Trust me next time you’re in a bad spot trying to laugh it off. Yes, it may start out as hysterical, almost loony-person laughter, but eventually, you will see the humor in everything.
I appreciate everything. The whole no phone, no communication, no idea where I was and having no real familiar ground to walk on only made me realize how lucky I am, and I gained a whole new appreciation for strangers.
The biggest lesson is that the drawbacks we are faced with are always double-sided. That your perspective can alter the reaction you have to your drawbacks, and if you look closely enough you’ll find that there is a plus side to the drawback.
- No phone meant total emersion into the vacation without outside distractions; in fact, it meant giving up control – something I’ve needed to learn for a while.
- Not bringing a backup camera also gave me no way to hide behind a device. I had to be involved in my surroundings now.
- Being squished in the plane along with not being able to zone out to the entertainment forced me to *gasp* talk to the person beside me. She was a lovely individual who had an incredible love story to tell. It was better than any inflight entertainment ever.
- Getting back home to a busted shed actually made it easier to trim the bad bushes I had behind it.
No matter what your destination is, whether it’s a vacation, your day at work, the afternoon with your family and the plans you set into motion remember: it’s about the journey.
And Laugh.