I must sound like a broken record as I am again writing this on a plane. This time, Bruce and I are flying from Toronto (after 2 days of Tabata Bootcamp Training) to Chicago for the SCW conference. Our flight was delayed so we took advantage of the extra hour and a half to squeeze in a massage for Bruce and a pedicure for me. Now, we are sitting on the plane ready to take off with cute pink toes and a relaxed back. Not such a bad way to pass the time at the airport. When given lemons what do you do – get a massage and a pedicure –Oh yes, and make lemonade.
It seems like we currently have stockpiled up a lot of lemonade lately, as our flights for the past 6 months have all been delayed. Or the traffic getting to the airport has been so bad that we have missed our flight (SFO to Toronto three days ago). This makes it a tough road to travel when travel is never on time. Not to mention the lost luggage, time adjustments, sleep interruptions, and inability to get whole food goodness without all the salt, sugar, and fat on the road.
I used to get quite out of sorts when there was a delay or disturbance in my travel schedule. I would fret over every detail. What if I missed my connection and couldn’t meet my commitments. What if my luggage was lost and I didn’t have what I need for my presentations. Okay I can’t lie: I still get this way sometimes when I know that people are depending on me. But I have gotten better at wading through the rough water. Take three days ago, for example, Bruce and I experienced the perfect storm. Not one, two, or three accidents on the way to the airport. No, there must have been seven. We were so late for our flight that we missed the next flight, as well. Our only choice was to catch the night flight or first one the following morning. We chose to go home and try again the next day. We missed two meetings, had to forfeit our first night in the hotel and left some pretty great seats on the plane.
But and this is a big BUT, we had a bonus day at home! We got to sleep in our own bed. We got to eat the foods we wanted to eat. We got to run on the beach. The next day, we were up bright and early to try again. We actually took no chances with traffic. We left way early for our flight only to find that our flight had been…delayed.
I am needing to remind myself that what I have no control over, I have no control over. But I totally have control over how I react. When we sitting in traffic staring at the clock ticking away, I offered up all our options. We actually had enough options to put our minds at ease that all would be well. Not the plan we currently were following but an altered plan. Every well laid out plan needs alternative routes, as very rarely does our plan number one come to fruition.
It reminds me of a trip gone very wrong some years ago that turned into an opportunity of a lifetime. I was booked to present in Moscow for a week’s training. Because of this, Bruce took the opportunity to schedule a surf trip to Peru at the same time. His flight left a day before mine so I sent him on his way; then we enlisted our eldest son to drive me to the airport the following day. Super excited I got the ticket counter and enthusiastically handed my passport to the ticket agent. He asked me for my other papers. I asked him “What other papers?” “: Your Visa” OMG OMG OMG, No one ever told me that I needed a Visa to go to Russia. I had never been to Russia. How would I know? (Since then, I have traveled to Russia 6 times and I know that I need a Visa to enter the country) . I immediately call my son asking him to turn around because we have to drive into San Francisco to the Russian embassy so that I could get my visa. I phoned my contact in Russia saying that there had been a slight problem and that I would be delayed one day. I thought that getting a visa was no big deal and I would just hop on the flight the next day.
Well, I was not at all right about that one. The attendant at the Russian embassy basically laughed in my face and told me it would take weeks to get a visa. OMG OMG OMG. Call up Moscow. “I can’t come. We will need to reschedule” I thought they would be so angry and never want to work with me again. Not the case. We rebooked for 2 months later.
So now what was I going to do with this week? HMMM. Bruce is in Peru. I guess I will go to Peru!!!! Yup. – I hopped on the next flight I could to Peru and met Bruce for a fun-filled week of nothing to do. It was great. And I still got to Russia two months later with visa in hand.
So here I sit two hours late getting into Chicago. Had it not been for the delay, my toes would have been a wreck. Because of the two-hour delay, I now will be able to show off my tootsies with pride.
I have no control over so many things surrounding me but how I react is all on me.