Dratted Blizzad
Sometimes it's really hard to maintain a good attitude.
We were supposed to be on an airplane in a few hours, flying towards Florida and our dream vacation - Disney World and a Disney Cruise. For Sean and I it would not only have been a repeat of our fabulous honeymoon, but it would also have been our first official vacation since that trip 11.5 years ago. For the girls it would have been simply magic.
Ordinarily, travel in February is not a problem around here. We had absolutely no reason to be concerned about scheduling our vacation to start on Feb. 2. Honestly, we were delighted by the added value we were getting because we were going in an off-off season. (Much nicer cabin, much lower price!) Two days ago we were contacted by our travel agent to be told that we had been upgraded for free to an even better cabin. It should have been spectacular. (I had also just scheduled a massage in an open-air cabana on the beach of Disney's private island....)
But apparently it was not meant to be. For the first time in years and years we are having WINTER here in Missouri, and the blizzard that hit two days ago ruined everything. We knew it was coming, and so we left early - knowing that the worst of it was to hit Columbia. If we were going to be at the airport the day after the storm, we had a better chance of getting there from my parents' home. We did look into leaving early - but there was no gauruntee as the ice had already started on Monday. Plus, an extra few unplanned days would have cost more than we can really afford right now.
So we waited, hoped and prayed.
When the airport closed yesterday we knew we were in trouble. Sean managed to get in touch with a travel agent this AM, only to find that the earliest flight out wouldn't be until Friday, and as there is a three-hour hold time for the airline it was doubtful we'd even manage that one. Left with few options, we decided to cancel the entire vacation. We are lucky because we do have trip insurance, so at the very least we'll be getting our money back. Also slightly lucky is the fact that the storm has closed down all of Columbia, and so the kids aren't missing school and my husband isn't missing work.
However, we aren't sure if and when we'll be able to reschedule...and that's hard, especially for my two very disappointed girls who've had a rough couple of months.
And this is where my personal pity-party comes in.
Our family has had a spectacularly bad year. From my emergency surgery and subsequent horrid six-month recovery period to near constant illness over the last few months, the dead cat, the dead Christmas Guinea Pigs and weather delayed birthdays it's just been one thing after another. Canceling the vacation is just the rotten icing on the cake.
We just need something good to happen.
Sigh.
We were supposed to be on an airplane in a few hours, flying towards Florida and our dream vacation - Disney World and a Disney Cruise. For Sean and I it would not only have been a repeat of our fabulous honeymoon, but it would also have been our first official vacation since that trip 11.5 years ago. For the girls it would have been simply magic.
Ordinarily, travel in February is not a problem around here. We had absolutely no reason to be concerned about scheduling our vacation to start on Feb. 2. Honestly, we were delighted by the added value we were getting because we were going in an off-off season. (Much nicer cabin, much lower price!) Two days ago we were contacted by our travel agent to be told that we had been upgraded for free to an even better cabin. It should have been spectacular. (I had also just scheduled a massage in an open-air cabana on the beach of Disney's private island....)
But apparently it was not meant to be. For the first time in years and years we are having WINTER here in Missouri, and the blizzard that hit two days ago ruined everything. We knew it was coming, and so we left early - knowing that the worst of it was to hit Columbia. If we were going to be at the airport the day after the storm, we had a better chance of getting there from my parents' home. We did look into leaving early - but there was no gauruntee as the ice had already started on Monday. Plus, an extra few unplanned days would have cost more than we can really afford right now.
So we waited, hoped and prayed.
When the airport closed yesterday we knew we were in trouble. Sean managed to get in touch with a travel agent this AM, only to find that the earliest flight out wouldn't be until Friday, and as there is a three-hour hold time for the airline it was doubtful we'd even manage that one. Left with few options, we decided to cancel the entire vacation. We are lucky because we do have trip insurance, so at the very least we'll be getting our money back. Also slightly lucky is the fact that the storm has closed down all of Columbia, and so the kids aren't missing school and my husband isn't missing work.
However, we aren't sure if and when we'll be able to reschedule...and that's hard, especially for my two very disappointed girls who've had a rough couple of months.
And this is where my personal pity-party comes in.
Our family has had a spectacularly bad year. From my emergency surgery and subsequent horrid six-month recovery period to near constant illness over the last few months, the dead cat, the dead Christmas Guinea Pigs and weather delayed birthdays it's just been one thing after another. Canceling the vacation is just the rotten icing on the cake.
We just need something good to happen.
Sigh.
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