I've never seen the movie, Dune, but I saw this quote yesterday, and it was just what I needed.
Today feels like my New Year's Day. I am alone in my quiet house with my sleepy dog, heavy snow falling outside, sipping on my monk fruit salted mocha. I will enjoy the solitude as long as I can. I won't be surprised if they let school out early due to the storm.
January 1st was spent traveling home to Bend from Orlando. Thankfully, all went smoothly though it was a long day. I can't say the same for our journey there.
We arrived at 11am at the Redmond airport (20 min from Bend) on the 26th for a 1pm flight to Seattle which was delayed and delayed and delayed until we finally made it at about 8:15pm, missing our connection to Orlando. We were then booked on an 8am flight out of Portland Monday morning, but flights out of Seattle were canceled due to a snow storm (they are not used to that in Seattle - it was a mess). We managed to get one of the last rental cars (seriously, there were three left in the lot) in Seattle and made the icy, snowy drive to Portland. It took us about four hours, but that was fine because we were facing a night spent at the Portland airport anyway. Luckily, our morning flight was on time and we made it to FL around 5pm Monday.
As you might imagine after all that, our luggage did not meet us there. In fact, we have yet to be reunited with it, though three of the four bags have been located and are being FedEx'd today.
Coincidentally (though I don't really believe in coincidence), Monday 12/27 was the fourth anniversary of our house fire so it felt strangely familiar to be left without our belongings. The right persepective can save you when faced with travel woes and lost luggage and, compared to that terrible loss, this was nothing but a little hassle. 😉
We felt very fortunate to have made it to our destination at all. It was a lot more than many travelers that weekend could say, some of them even missing Christmas with their loved ones. And I felt so bad for the people working at the airlines with major staff shortages combined with bad weather, I couldn't work up much frustration with them.
So, we bought some new clothes and enjoyed two days immersed in the world of Harry Potter at Universal. The girls took in all they wanted to while Bob and I found places to escape the crowd and relax a bit. We then had two days at Disneyworld. It was much less crowded due to the new reservation requirement, and it was a great place to spend New Year's Eve. Our feet could have used the planned break day between parks, but they made it!
A couple observations I made, having not traveled by plane or been in large crowds since 2019.
1. TSA is grumpy as hell. Seriously. I think they probably have good reason to be and I didn't take it personally as they yelled at everyone like they were herding the dumbest animals on the planet. (Perhaps they were 😂)
2. People in the parks were quick to smile at each other, and ready to have some damn fun! That was really refreshing to witness. No one seemed fearful. I guess it would be a stupid place to be if you were. People were kind and friendly.
It was lovely to be in the sunny, warm Floriday weather and now I am happy to be home in the snow. It was very strange to the four of us seeing the Christmas decorations and hearing Christmas music in 80º weather. We like our seasons.
Who knows what 2022 will bring. As Hagrid from Harry Potter says, "What's comin' will come an' we'll meet it when it does." I hope it's nothing as threatening as Voldemort, but we will no doubt have unprecedented challenges as we navigate revolutionary times. Like it or not, we are in them.
I'm not a big fan of resolutions that aim to fix what one perceives as their shortcomings or flaws. We are hard enough on ourselves as it it. As we begin this new year, I will resolve to be as kind to myself and to others as humanly possible. I will embrace hard work and healthy choices not as penance for past behavior, but as a path to wellness, satisfaction, and happiness.
I wish you all the best in the new year! 🧡
