Sometimes You Just Have to Laugh at Life

I should be home now. But you know what they say about the best-laid plans and all that.

So my wife and I finally crossed an ocean. Neither of us had done that before. So very cool. We were set to spend 9 days in England.

It did not start out as we had hoped it would. We got to the airport with lots of time to spare. Boarded the plane. It backed up from the gate on time…and then, the pilot informs us that they noticed something not-quite right. We’re going back to the gate, but they think they can fix it.

So we go back to the gate. They fix it. We push back from the gate. And pause. The problem occurred again. Back to the gate. And off the plane.

The airline gets us a new plane. But that takes time. We finally get in the air – about 6 hours late.

Ergo, we more or less lost a day in London. It happens. You just have to laugh at life sometimes.

The trip itself was lovely

All in all, our visit to England was great. The most touristy thing we did was ride the London Eye to see the city. Visited the Victoria and Albert Museum. Unfortunately, my wife underestimated how much her knee could handle. That created some limitations to our activities for the rest of our trip.

Still, from London we went to Stratford-upon-Avon and saw the many Shakespeare-related places. Met with a friend who now lives in England. Then went to Salisbury and I got to see the Gothic cathedral I studied in college, as well as an amazing and gorgeous old, old city.

After Salisbury, we went to Bath. My wife got to geek out on the many Jane Austin-related sights and history. I enjoyed another city with amazing, old architectural features. After that, we went to see Stonehenge.

At Stonehenge, a new idea for a couple of potential books came to mind. Stay tuned, this might be going somewhere down the line.

And then we were set to go home. And that’s when we had to laugh at life.

Laugh at life or cry in dismay

We knew Bath to London was a bit of a hike. So we allowed plenty of time. Also, with my wife’s ongoing knee issues, it seemed wise. Hence, we got to Heathrow with more than enough time to spare.

After we got our bags checked, we started to go to security. Immediately upon getting our boarding passes scanned, we gaped at the note that appeared:

Flight cancelled.

Okay. Laugh at life here, or start to cry? Okay, we did neither – we got angry. Security let us go back to the check-in and we managed to get booked onto another flight home. But it was already delayed a couple of hours.

Okay. Fine. At least we can get home to our cats.

Then it got delayed. Again. In time, we learn that a construction crew fucked up and cut a fiber-optic cable that impacted the airport. Thus, flights to multiple major airports were utterly fucked over by this.

Still, we were assigned a gate. It looked like we would finally go home.

And again, the Universe said no. Flight cancelled til the next day.

The airline put us up in a hotel. We were less than thrilled, and exhausted, but faced no other choice.

In the end, you get to choose. Laugh at life or choose a less-than-healthy alternative. We’re at the airport now, and hopefully by the time you read this, we’ll be on our way home.

You just never know what will happen. And sometimes, you gotta laugh at life. Because a screaming fit just makes your throat sore.

Thanks for reading. As I share my creative journey with you every week, please consider this: How are you inspired and empowered to be your own authentic creator, whatever form that takes?