Detours

Sometimes a detour turns out to be the best path. And sometimes, yoga works! On December 26, my family set out for a long planned trip to the Bahamas. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that Samy needed to have a passport (even infants need passports now -- I think I am the only person who didn't know that); we only had a certified birth certificate for her. In Charlotte, NC, after an hour of discussions with US Airways supervisors, we were not allowed to board our connecting flight to Nassau. Frustration, anger, guilt, recriminations right? Wrong! I was able to see the airline ticket agent as an angel trying her best to help us. I then had to wait on a long line at the US Airways service desk for over 1 hour -- I was filled with love, compassion and empathy for all the travelers who had been bumped from flights or missed connections. I saw all the beings moving around the airport as holy and made of light. A US Airways customer service angel re-routed us to to Fort Myers Beach, to a beautiful hotel on the Gulf of Mexico, and our family had a wonderful vacation. Even in hindsight, it was an amazing experience that I am glad to have shared with my kids. It was a lesson in what is really important - that we were all together on an adventure; we were healthy and had each other; and getting frustrated or angry doesn't do anyone any good.