Yesterday, my husband and I were scheduled to leave on a four-day trip to sunny Cancun.
The details had been in the works for about a month. You know how it is when you are planning a trip. Excitement builds as you are preparing and anticipating in the days prior. We stayed up late packing the night before and made the final, last-minute check of the house before leaving the next morning.
We were on our way!
Or so we thought.
The flight to Charlotte (yes, connections can be a little weird sometimes) was uneventful. We had time in Charlotte before the Cancun flight to have a bite of lunch and tell each other what a great life we have.
We also laughed about our last experience in the Charlotte airport where we spent 3 days of spring break with 2 of our sons because our flight going to NYC had been cancelled due to unexpected (blizzard) snow!
We always referred to that trip as “Spring Break in New York – NOT!” or “Spring Break in Charlotte.” Did I mention, it was St. Patrick’s Day? We bemoaned the fact that we missed our chance to attend the largest St. Patrick’s Day parade in the U.S. Among other things. Broadway tickets, Knicks tickets, restaurant reservations. . . . . all lost while we were stuck in Charlotte.
Fast forward three years.
St. Patrick’s Day again.
We’re in Charlotte.
We are getting ready to board our flight to Cancun. They questioned my passport. Took me over to the side. Same thing with my husband. Guess what? We had been issued the wrong passports in Alabama. Ours were for land and sea. Not air!
Please tell me this is going to have a happy ending.
Then they tell us. . . . .
We were not going to be able to board the plane. No way no how.
Another spring break with a mishap in Charlotte? Things could go wrong twice? And, on St. Patrick’s Day???
To say we were disappointed is an understatement. How could this happen? As they were unloading our bags (yes, that was hard to watch), we had a conversation with the pilot. He assured us this is not really that uncommon. He told us of a time he had to remove another pilot from a flight because he had the wrong passport. Ok, at least we didn’t feel like complete dummies!
As we were walking to the customer service area, frustrated and disillusioned from watching our plane take off without us, it suddenly occurred to me that I needed to practice what I preach. I needed to change my defeated thoughts as quickly as I could.
I started with “Something bigger is on the way.” I know. When I said it to my husband, he looked at me like I was nuts!
But what choice did I have? Crying wouldn’t help. Yelling was pointless. I wanted to feel better. So I kept saying, “Something bigger is on the way.”
Long story short: The airlines gave us vouchers for another flight to Cancun within the year. We are still working on the hotel.
I would be kidding you if I said sitting here this morning, back in Alabama, with a couple of unpacked bags, filled with warm-weather clothes, was exciting. It’s definitely somewhat of a downer. OK, it’s a BIG downer!
My conclusion from this caper? Something bigger is on the way.
And, you might want to look up “the luck of the Irish.” It’s not what you think 
Peace,
-Martha
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow!
But I like the attitude, and YES! Something bigger is on it’s way!
Trap
Martha~
Well there you go, the Universe served up an opportunity for you to practice what you preach and you did it. Congratulations on earning yourself a better vacation with bigger opportunities involved.
St. Patrick’s Day ~ whoddathunk it?
You have just been set up to be doubly blessed!! There was a reason you did not go on that trip. I would rather be on this side of the border with the wrong passport than on the other side with the wrong passport!!
Trapper, Tam, Anita,
Thanks for your comments! It’s all good