The art of not loosing it when things go wrong

I was packed, reservations for flights, hotels, tours, & attractions were all made and triple checked. I researched this trip for months and lost sleep over the excitement of my first solo trip anywhere let alone over an ocean. Family and friends were excited, worried, and anxious about me going alone, but I was ready for the adventure.

I had chosen a relatively direct route to get to Scotland, DFW to Dulles International, straight into Edinburgh. I was all set to hopefully sleep on the plane and arrive somewhat rested and ready to explore as soon as my feet his that medieval ground. So I’m sitting in a sandwich restaurant at Dulles in DC enjoying a French dip and fries thinking to myself, “Perfect choice of dinner before my long flight”, when I get a text message from United Airlines. “We are sorry to let you know that your 10:28 PM flight has been cancelled so to a technical issue with the aircraft. Please see United customer service for further information.” My first thought was, “Shit, where’s my server, I need my check!”…no server anywhere in sight. What felt like an eternity was in reality probably only 2-3 minutes. Paid for my now less than perfect meal given the fact that I now had to sprint to the United desk with a backpack loaded for a 2 week hiking trip in the Highlands and a canvas shoulder bag loaded with my iPad, GoPro, book, etc. By the time I got to customer service, feeling like I just might revisit my meal very unpleasantly, there we’re already 30 or so very upset and angry passengers from the same cancelled flight in front of me. All the anger amplified because the United app or any of the assistance links that were given in the cancellation email were working for anyone.

While waiting in line…..waiting…..waiting…. “Damn these bags are heavy”…. I call my parents, my daughters, and my 1 friend who just happens to reside in DC, to let them all know my current predicament. It’s finally my turn at the desk and the poor woman facing me from behind her computer looks frazzled, but nothing compared the the looks on the faces of all the passengers still waiting behind me. I gather every ounce of patience I have, which is saying something given the fact that I’m a teacher and school just ended for me 2 days prior. My patience were in short supply when I got up that morning. (Was that this morning? Feels like longer than that at this point. ) Anyway, the Customer Service agent looks at me and confirms that I am also standing in her line because of the cancellation to Edinburgh, I confirm and she proceeds to inform me that the next available flight to Edinburgh is not for 2 days. “I’m sorry, did you say TWO days?”. Now I understand why some of the people in front of me were so vocal. I take a deep breath and remind myself that the woman standing across from me didn’t go out and break my plane, she simply got up that day and came to work, a job I would never want to do myself. So I calmly had her book me a seat on that flight and asked if there would be any kind of compensation for my trouble. She smiled back at me and said I would be getting an email from United with an offer. (THAT being another story…insert eye roll here).

Stepping out of line and finally moving away from the cloud of hostility hovering that particular location at the airport, I felt almost relaxed. I called my local friend and had a place to stay, still annoyed at the delay, but not angry. Looking around at the passengers that flipped out, they were all continuing to flip out to people on the phone after they left customer service with the exact same news I received.

So the moral of my story, take a deep breath, realize that the world does not live to serve you, try and remember that being grounded out of town for a couple of days might just be a fun adventure all on its own.