Last weekend was a mess. Alright, you caught me in an exaggeration. Last weekend did not go according to plan. That is factual.
On a picture-perfect Friday morning, I drove myself to the airport. It was warm and sunny with the tiniest of breezes. All of that combined definitely enhanced my mood. As I drove through the parking in search of an empty spot, a black cat ran across the driveway. I am not a superstitious person, but, for a split second, I stiffened. Once I parked safely, I thanked God for keeping me safe and went on my merry way towards the airport.
Airports evoke a mixture of feelings in me. If I am traveling for pleasure, the airport is where the excitement begins. If I am on my way to visit family, I get nervous, trying to come up with answers to anything they might ask. There is a part of me that panics, frantically looking around, trying to make sure there are no people who might physically harm me. However, the overwhelming emotion is calmness. Airports almost seem homely to me. It is because there is an abundance of people of all shapes and sizes that I can observe. On top of that, there are so many different settings (i.e., check-in counter, security, shops, gate area, boarding, etc.). It is a perfect environment for people-watching.
If possible, I like to arrive at the airport a little earlier. Yes, it alleviates the stress because I do not have to worry if I will be able to make it on time or not, but it also allows me to sit down and read or do Sudoku. Why is this so important to me? It is because, at the airport, I do not feel the guilt. I cannot lay down my book and go perform some chores. There are limited options at the airport, and I actually like it. During that waiting time, I am allowed to do whatever I want without feeling bad about not checking things off my “To-do” list.
After clearing security and walking a short distance, I arrived at the gate. One Sudoku, two Sudoku (or is it Sudokus?), three. People-watching in between. Everything was going smoothly until I heard that my flight was going to be delayed for a few HOURS. While I was not happy to hear this news, I did not flinch. The person who was to pick me up from the airport called, and I told them the story of my delayed flight. “No problem. Just keep me posted” – I heard them say. The only thing that bothered me a tiny bit was that I would have to find a spot to eat at the airport if I was to wait that long. Walking towards my gate, I did not see anything that caught my eye, but I got up and walked down the hall to explore more.
The reason for the delay was that all planes were grounded at my departure airport. A beautiful sunny day with minimal wind. Hmm… I wondered if maybe there was a security threat. As I tried to explore the airport, I noticed that the monitors showed other flights as either leaving on time, or some of them were even scheduled to depart ahead of schedule. My plane was not even on the monitor. Bad sign.
Not having found a place to eat, I returned to my gate only to find out that my flight was canceled. Now, it was because of my destination airport. I turned around at the monitor and saw other airlines going to that airport without any changes. Hmm… I ended up getting a refund and then spent probably more than an hour calling all the people I was to meet with over the weekend to tell them I was not coming after all. That black cat came to mind. Maybe God just saved me (and other passengers) from a disaster by having that flight canceled? Even though I was a bit angry at the airlines for handling this situation in a terrible manner (I will not bore you with the details), and a twinge disappointed about not seeing certain people, I was content in knowing that everything happens for a reason.
I paid for parking as if I stayed there for 24h and went back home. Because I made sure to take care of everything before I left, there was not much to do once I returned (a few hours later). So I enjoyed a lazy weekend. But it did not feel right. It was not a proper weekend. There was nothing that I had to do, yet nothing I really wanted to do. I coasted throughout it.
This is why today feels extra special. It is almost as if I waited two weeks for the weekend. No, I do not have much planned. Yes, I do have a bunch of chores to do. But today feels like a proper start to a full-on weekend.
This week I had to work extra hard to catch up on the things I have missed while being off work (due to the trip that ended up being canceled). It was busy but good. I feel like I deserve this weekend. I am excited about it!
Whenever I look forward to something, a little voice in my head reminds me of what usually happens in such situations – life disappoints. But I am hopeful. No pressure. Que sera sera. Prepare for the worst, but hope for the best. End enjoy yourself!
Do you think you deserve a weekend?
Do you have any plans for the next couple of days?
Stay golden,
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Weekends at my stage in life are like little gifts. Even better when I get them all to myself. I feel ya!!!
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Ditto. But you made it sound like you’re 101 years old with that “at my stage in life”.
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You’re right I did. Must be my old soul speaking for me. lol
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Hopefully, the spirit of youth comes over you soon.
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I hope this weekend is relaxing and peaceful and is awesome and rejuvenating (amazing, brilliant, calm, delicious, exhilarating, fabulous….) I hope you at least got compensation too…. it’s so frustrating to plan something and have it fall through…..
Love, light and gitter
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I got reimbursed for what I paid for the flight. That was it. Nothing else. Life…
Thank you so much for these well-wishes. I hope your weekend is golden!
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Goldie, that is the right frame of mind. Instead of dwelling on the negative, you took charge and thanked God. Hats off to you girl.
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I try…
How’s your weekend looking?
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Pretty good, gonna be working all weekend, so I’ll have more money to pay off more debt faster!
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It’s great to have proper motivation. Look at you go!
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I’m just so thankful and grateful for the opportunity to earn back my freedom and independence.
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Well said.
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I think we definitely deserve having at least one day where we just rest and not think about anything but what we love to do or who we love. It’s, even more, the case when you have a long rough week. Hope you make the most of this week-end!
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For sure. Life seems to be an express train nowadays. Slowing down and smelling the roses is much needed for both – the physical and the mental of our healths.
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I don’t like airports at all. Too warm. Too crowded. Too expensive.
I am flying back tonight. And I am incredibly sad to go back to reality.
Weekends are needed. I think a 3 day weekend would be better.
Your post brings up 2 thoughts:
1. How valuable are weekends during vacation? Do you even notice them?
2. I had a friend from Iran and if I remember well, he had the Wednesday and Sunday off.
How would you like that?
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I totally agree with the “too expensive” part. That is exactly why I try not to buy things that I don’t have to. My usual purchase is a book, which costs pretty much the same everywhere. I bring my own snacks. Although, with this fairly new rule of “no carry on allowed”, my space became limited.
That’s exactly what I keep saying. We should make Monday a permanent addition to the weekend. Productivity at work would be higher, people would be happier, etc.
Weekends during vacation? That depends. If I spend my “vacation” with my extended family, I do notice the weekend. It is because I’m not really on vacation then. I just don’t go to work.
When I’m on real vacation, I probably do not notice them as much.
Wednesday and Sunday? Would that mean no Saturday? I’m not sure. While I think it helps break up the week quite a bit, I do enjoy having 2 days off in a row. One day you can use for chores and non-work related tasks, while the second can be used for actual relaxing. Having only one day would decrease the stress of a 5 day week, but it would also decrease the satisfaction of my time off.
How about you?
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I think everyone deserves weekends. Even when I was unemployed, weekends have a completely different vibe to them. Celebratory, free, lazy, fun—we all deserve those things in our lives.
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Interesting that you still celebrated weekends differently when you were unemployed. To me, after a while, they all blend in together. I like your approach. It’s highlighting the gratitude.
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I wonder how many accidents or disasters are avoided thanks to canceled flights. Do you have fear of flying?
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Right? I definitely felt relieved when I got back home from the airport. It was one of those things I could not explain.
Fear of flying? Not usually. However, because I enjoy disaster movies, I can recall them during the wrong times (during turbulence). The thing is that IF something was to happen, I am mostly at peace with it. I try to get on the plane with a peace of mind. If I crash, chances are that my death will be swift.
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I’m really curious how does it feel when you recall disaster movies during turbulence 🙂 Me, I’m always tense and praying so that nothing bad happens.
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It’s quite commical. I start taking deeper breaths, grasp the armrest and see the plane pludging. I do pray a little, too. The breathing helps regulate everything.
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I try the same. I don’t move. I remain focused. But my hands sweat even if they never sweat at all. There are many car accidents every day but we still fear the most the air crash. Maybe because almost nobody survives.
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Your last sentence – a curse and a blessing in one. Cars are death cans.
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Don’t you think that airplanes are death cans as well?
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Sure, but I don’t fly every day multiple times a day.
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True.
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