A few hope and resolution thoughts...
It’s that time, isn’t it? Reflect o’clock. Time 2:Resolve. What did I accomplish in 2023? What do I hope to achieve in 2024?
HOPE. A word that plays host to dozens of acronyms. To name just two of the many that my Google search uncovered: Have Only Positive Expectations and Having Opportunity Provides Empowerment. It doesn’t need another, but as I sat in Orlando International Airport’s Delta Sky Club drinking a Bee Sting, like a Bee’s Knees but made spicy with ancho chile liqueur, I felt the need to provide hope with one more guest at its party of plenty:
Have a plan.
Open up to unexpected opportunities.
Prepare a Plan B because Plan A might be crap.
Expectation management.
Our final days of 2023 travel embodied my new hope acronym in such a way, that it seems only right to share.
Have a plan. We had one. On December 28th, we were all set to fly out at 4 o’clock in the afternoon until we…
Opened up to an unexpected opportunity.
That morning, before I ordered my final barista-crafted grande Peppermint White Mocha with coconut milk, no whip, and no dark chocolate curls of 2023, my husband, Chris, noticed an opportunity. He saw that we could delay our flight by a couple of hours, upgrade from Comfort+ to Premium Select on our flight across the Atlantic, and switch our route to have one less layover for $13 each.
Yes, please!
Our route changed from Orlando-Atlanta-Paris-Lisbon to Orlando-Amsterdam-Lisbon.
Chris hoped out loud for our flight from Amsterdam to Lisbon to get canceled. I wondered out loud if we could just drop the Lisbon leg of our flight and catch another flight a few days later. We discussed. There would be extra hotel costs if we went to Amsterdam, but no other tangible consequences. We work wherever we are. Most days, no one counts on us to be present in any specific location at any particular time. Chris opened the coin-flipping app on his phone and called Tails Amsterdam two out of three. The first two flips went Tails.
Chris couldn’t drop the Amsterdam-Lisbon part of our flight online. We decided to chat with the person checking our luggage later that day to see if there was any way it could stay in Amsterdam. Our suitcases couldn’t make it onboard as carry-ons.
Prepare a Plan-B because the A-plan might be crap. After our Amsterdam dreaming, we decided if our last-minute travel plans didn’t work out, we’d sleep in a hotel room with a hot tub in Lisbon instead of continuing on with our booked 3+ hour train ride to Porto.
Before learning the fate of our last-minute Amsterdam hopes, we had the extra hours in Florida to relish with my daughter, Elizabeth, and our granddaughter, Audi. We enjoyed a relaxed lunch at Hollerbach’s German Restaurant in Sanford (a restaurant I’d been hoping to check out). At Hollerbach’s, I ate the bratwurst and sauerkraut I’d been dreaming about for weeks. My daughter made me proud by ordering a sauerkraut-laden Reuben. All four of us were beyond delighted with our meals. Then, Chris and Audi raced along the RiverWalk while my daughter and I meandered and chattered. It was such a pleasant way to bring a week of Christmas fun to a close.
Our fingers crossed as we stood in line and waited for our turn at the Delta Sky Priority desk. The agent assisting us explained she wasn’t permitted to short-check luggage and was doubtful that a ticket switch to Amsterdam could be made for us. She made calls, went through the steps, and was kind. We were patient. Since our tickets were round-trip, to maintain the Premium+ seating on the flight from Orlando to Amsterdam, the tickets had to be rebooked. The cost: $3,000 each. We thanked her for trying and taking the time, but to no one’s surprise, we weren’t willing to pay the extra amount. Then, we thanked her again.
Expectation Management. While both Chris and I were a bit bummed that we wouldn’t get to spend a few days in Amsterdam, I was thrilled to be stopping and sleeping and getting to soak in a hot tub in Lisbon.
It is now 1:38 P.M on January 1st, 2024 — time to reflect and plan and hope. At this moment, for the year ahead, the only plans I have are to visit Frankfurt, Germany, in February (trip booked) and to move to Canada in April (details not worked out). I hope to make it to Norway, Italy, and Scotland before we cross the pond in April. There’s going to be so much to share in the coming weeks!