So, this past holiday, after many years of saving and juggling schedules, I was finally in a position to take my family on a sunny vacation to a tropical spot. I should mention here that I have a weird irrational fear that if I plan anything too thoroughly, it will inevitably fail on an epic level and so, I don’t tempt fate with high hopes or over-arranged itineraries preferring to have a flexible plan with room to “roll with the punches” as needed. Well, holy smokes, be careful what you DON’T wish for! Although I purposely chose a destination I had been to before, eliminating the need to explore and experience a brand new land and/or culture and I kept expectations into the negative category of low so as not to be disappointed by; bad weather, sunburn, tsunami and/or bed bugs. It didn’t occur to me that after using an accredited travel agent and pre-booking several months in advance and double checking all the paperwork ahead of time, that my flight might not even exist. Truly, what??
So, a day and a half into my Hawaiian vacation still sitting in my Vancouver living room while the airlines and travel agent try to figure out what happened, I started this post for all of you to try and find the humour in our predicament. Well, they finally found us an alternate evening flight out of Seattle and we spent 4 hours on the tarmac waiting for the de-icer…and I found myself wondering why are we still feeling comfortable flying out in these tempestuous conditions? The flight took its toll on my youngest who doesn’t really like flying to begin with and so despite being drugged up with as much anti-nausea medicine as she could handle, still managed to fill even the super-size barf bags. Poor girl. Alas that was not the end of our misadventures; oh yes, there was torrential rain…daily, lost documents, stomach virus (another in our party), ear-infection and a complete lack of any reasonably priced transportation, food, activities or amenities …sigh, well I guess I half expected those minor inconveniences.
I have a friend who recently re-told to me one of her worst vacations of all time during which not one but 2 of her children came down with the stomach flu and she spent several days doing laundry and mopping up vomit in a hotel over-looking Disney World. We laughed and commented how at last, after all this time she can finally find the humour in that icky situation. In recent days, the re-telling of our saga has sparked similar tales of equally crazy mishaps for other family vacations that have had us in tears but in the best way. No other trips are in-grained in our memories like the disasters.
To all of you with similar stories of incredible tests of patience and humour, thanks for sharing. In the end, my kids had a great time and were incredibly appreciative and happy that we got some sun, surf and island breezes. We will remember that trip and, I hope, it will get more absurd and hilarious during each recollection.
Happy New Year everyone, I wish you catastrophes in 2018…they keep you on your toes and provide endless fodder for conversation.