I think everyone knows the Friends epsiode with Ross's "Pivot" (Season 5 Episode 16), if you have been living under a rock.
Well just this past weekend we had to "pivot" our travel plans. I had full plans to be writing this post about the annual Christmas in Bayfield Event. I have attended this event every year for about as long as I can remember. This year I could not. We booked a hotel. We pre-ordered our dinner. We made plans with friends and family. We booked outings. All of them had to be cancelled. Every last one. Our toddler was/is sick. These days that means even more than it used to. But we would have cancelled pre-Covid as well.
*She is fine. We are fine. Everyone is safe. Kids get sick. But that is why I decided to write this post. Things happen that are completely out of our control and we need to prepare and protect ourselves.
This weekend as I emailed the hotel, etc. to cancel our reservations and plans. I thought about how many times we have had to "pivot" in our travel plans, and once we arrive. If you have travelled at all you have probably had to pivot at some point on the adventure; Flight delays, Flight cancellations, lost reservations, weather advisories, illnesses, scheduling, travel partners, the list could go on forever.
The world we live in today, may mean even more possibilities for the need to pivot. Documentation changes, government changes, Covid Restrictions, overbookings, Less airlines, lower capacities, a SURGE in travellers, some of these things are new to us travellers, and I am not sure when they will be going away. So we need to be prepared.
Yes, we should be prepared in the insurance sense, cancellation insurance, health insurance, etc. But what I am talking about is our ability to prepare ourselves for the pivot. I used to get VERY upset when the trip I thought I was taking didn't turn out the way I thought it was supposed to. We have spent a lot of extra money on trips that we did not budget for because of hotels, car rentals, train tickets, flights, etc. that we have had to purchase on the go due to having to pivot our plans. In the end it has always been worth it. But I am starting to learn that I need to prep myself as we start to get back into the swing of things with travel. Not only are we still dealing with the lingering effects of Covid, but we now have a toddler who will be travelling with us. And if life at home with a toddler foreshadows life travelling with a toddler, there will be a lot of changes happening, and mom and dad are not the ones in charge.
So how did we make the best of our unexpected weekend at home? We watched a lot of Christmas movies. Ordered take out for all of our meals and did no housework or prep, this is a huge challenge for me. I cannot remember the last time I spent this much time at home without cleaning, organizing, laundry, cooking, planning, honestly my list goes on. And it was wonderful! Minus our daughter being sick of course. She was a rockstar, as usual, and you could barely tell she was fighting something. It turned out to be a great weekend. Although we wish we could have been at the Christmas Event.
We would love to know the things you have had to pivot on in your travels. Have you had to cancel travel plans? Change plans? We would also like to know if you have never had to pivot, and please... tell us your secret!?
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