The Traveler

I discovered something on my travel misadventures this Holiday season…I’ve become an honest to God traveler. I fly so much and have encountered so many random situations that it takes a lot to shake me up or mess with my head. I hadn’t realized how much of a traveler I had become until others started to say how they would have freaked out, or how good it was that I was a traveler. Heck, my Mom even said she doesn’t worry about me or my Big Brothers when we travel because we do it so much. This is the same woman who almost re-arranged a visiting family members trip to WI because she was worried about me driving through Chicago alone on my way to Ohio. I have never thought I was a bad traveler, I just never thought I was great at it. Apparently I should reassess.

This trip was the first time I’ve ever had a flight all out canceled due to weather with no immanent hope of a correct connection/fix-it flight to my final destination. I’ve been canceled before and I’ve missed flights and had to spend nights around airports, but never like this. In years past this kind of seemingly hopeless situation would have reduced me to tears and self-pity. This time I had a few emotional thoughts and moments, mostly because of the Holiday factor to the travels, but I could rein them in, still be polite to the airline folks that could help me and be focused on my task.

In one of my not so proud moments on the phone with customer service I pretended to get choked up to ratchet up the sympathy factor and get more help…and it worked! I was super polite to desk agents and the luggage people and you know what, they all helped me gladly and thanked me for being so patient and polite. If they could read minds they would know some of the not-so-polite thoughts rushing around my head, but thank goodness not a one of them appeared to be psychic.

While I would never pick nightmare flights and trips, at least now when they happen I know what to do. I have the ability to navigate the system and that is actually a good thing. Now if only the airline industry would start making some improvements, that would be a travel miracle for everyone! Now if I could only afford more exotic or even not so exotic travel…that would be even better!