This past weekend I was fortunate to be going on a trip to our first Family Weekend at my son’s new college near Richmond, Virginia.
First of all, Richmond and I have a terrible history. My worst travel experience ever happened while trying to get home from a business trip in Richmond many years ago. A HUGE snowstorm hit and the airport could not allow any flights in so they bussed our flight to Philly where there were no flights to Vermont for days. I found this out after, plane fully loaded and boarding door closed, they made us deplane- that plane was going no where due to the storm heading toward Vermont. The short end of the story is that after sleeping in a nearby hotel for only a couple of hours I took a flight to Albany, NY where I ended up riding with a man I did not know in a rented mini van. All was well!
It is experiences like those, none quite like that over the years, but some close, that have helped me to build resilience, confidence and flexibility while traveling.
On my way to Family Weekend my 6 am flight was delayed before 3:30 am- delayed every two hours until 2:30 when I overheard the desk person telling someone on the phone that the plane was not going anywhere at all because it needed a part they did not have. I snapped into action. I got to use my best strategizing brain, I decided to treat it like an adventure and hardest of all, decided not to be attached to the outcome.
I found that there was a flight leaving for Philly soon and walked quickly, but calmly to the gate on the other side of the airport. Once there I stood behind a woman who was actually yelling at the gate attendant. When it was finally my turn- and this took a bit as the gate agent had to go load another plane before he came back to me.
I kept centered on the fact that I was doing the things that I could control, turned the rest over to my higher power and breathed. Before he had left the desk he told me that there were no seats available. In fact a man nearby was on standby for the flight. When he came back miraculously he found one seat and where there was originally no seat to Richmond, there was now one of those, too. He put me on. Not arriving until after 10, but at least I would be there.
My original travel plans were a quick flight to Washington DC followed by my first Amtrak train trip ever. Talk about adventure!
I got on the plane- an exit row window- my favorite! It was a smooth flight, a beautiful view while landing and when I got off the plane in Philly, right in front of me was a flight going to Richmond within the hour! I asked the person at what I thought was the gate if I could get on that flight. Sorry it’s full. Can I get on standby? No, you have to do that on the app, we don’t help people in the airport anymore. So I asked, where is customer service- to which she replied- this IS customer service and pointed to the sign I had not seen above her head. Well, she could not even show me where on the app to get on standby to a flight, and then I happened to mention my defunct 6 am flight. Oh! now that I know you have had a hardship, I can help you. But don’t expect this again!
I got on that earlier flight, in a good seat and was in Richmond by 8:02!
I did think about just throwing in the towel a couple of times. But my wanting to see how this adventure played out won out.
Not only did I get to enjoy a great weekend with my son, meeting most of his teammates and their families, but I got to complete my adventure with my first ever trip on Amtrak- going from Ashland to DC. What a great ride! I enjoyed DC for a few hours, I saw an exhibit at the National Gallery of Art that I had been looking forward to for over an year and then flew home on a slightly delayed flight from DC. Earlier this year the one thing that had me the most anxious was the idea of riding the trains in Switzerland. That experience helped me to be ready for this one, which was really so super easy, but I had no idea.
This whole experience was actually enjoyable, even though I missed a couple of things, being present and positive, nice and kind helped me to enjoy and I think it helped to create the circumstances for it to all work out. Because I wasn’t attached to how it would have to work out, I could be happy with whatever happened. And that might have meant not going and heading back home.
I realize once again that putting yourself into situations that might challenge you not only helps you to grow, but also allows you to measure your progress. I have come a long way. I have traveled many, many times alone and I have never had an experience as great as this with things not working out the way I thought they would and should.
Take this into the week ahead- focus on the things you can control. Do your best with those things- in attitude, in strategy, in asking for help, in inviting in your higher power, in