What to do when your plans fall through.
August 9, 2018
Reston, Virginia
www.mymobileadventure.com
I arrived at Reagan National Airport last Friday afternoon on the red eye from Anchorage. I picked up my car, a few groceries, my dog Parker, and headed to the Airbnb I rented for the next three weeks.
After being mobile for a month in three different cities, I was more than ready to settle into one place. I planned to make the Airbnb feel ‘homey’ for my son Patrick. He would arrive the next day. He worked all summer at a camp in West Virginia. I thought, “I’ll make his favorite – meatloaf, banana bread, and brownies.”
I unloaded my car – groceries, suitcase, dog bed. The Airbnb was just as it looked in the online pictures. Bright, clean, open floor plan. My first task – let Parker out in the back yard. The door to the basement was locked. I emailed the Airbnb host. “How do I get to the back yard? The basement door is locked.”
The reply: “I’ll have to ask permission from the tenants living downstairs.”
Two dogs barked loudly from the basement. Parker reacted. Confused and sleep deprived, I barked, “This isn’t happening!” My dog loves people. He is not a fan of other dogs.
I emailed the host. “I rented the entire house. What is going on?” They had rented the basement to a long-term tenant with two dogs. I knew immediately that my dream had turned into a nightmare. It was now after 5:00pm. I put everything back in my car. Desperate, I asked for help from friends and posted about my situation on Facebook.
My friend Dan called. “You’re not going to believe this! I just dropped my dog off to stay at my sister’s house for the week. Karen and I leave tomorrow at 4:30 am for vacation. You can stay at our house.”
Too tired to fight receiving this gift, I drove to his home. Tears and snot covered my face. He and his wife welcomed me with open arms. They held me as I struggled to make sense of my experience.
Now, as I sit on his back deck, sipping French-pressed coffee, writing this story, my heart is filled with gratitude. I fell. Dan and Karen caught me. I live in a friendly Universe.
What if you didn’t judge situations as good or bad?
We experience in life things we’d rather avoid. Wisdom comes from being present and working under any condition. In every obstacle lies an opportunity.
How you perceive a moment and what you do with it is up to you.
READ: November 23 – This is the Worst Thing Ever!
and
December 14 – Dan and Karen’s Story – Say Yes to Your Call to Adventure
from my book, Savvy Woman in 5 Minutes a Day: Make Time for a Life That Matters