This totally sucks
Your Vacation Got Canceled?
Here’s how to cope. Sort of.
First, the good news:
Aloha, Friends! I’m all packed and ready to head out to beautiful Kauai, including SCUBA gear, art supplies, and all my writing stuff, headed for a long-awaited writers’ conference at a beautiful resort on the southside of the island.
Oh, the sun! The sea air! That bathtub-warm ocean to splash around in! I’ve been self-quarantining for two weeks in hopes of avoiding catching anything that could void this vacay. And I’ve been hopping up and down with glee for several days now as my departure date approaches—two days away!
Now, the bad news:
Today, while running a couple of last-minute errands, I received a call from the organizer/host, who told me, between COVID coughs so deep they sounded subterranean, that the conference and resort hotel have been canceled.
Full money back, he said.
You can still go, he said. Keep your flight and just find a different place to stay.
Right. If you’ve never tried to find an affordable accommodation on the south end of this most popular island at the height of the tourist season, with only two days’ notice, don’t bother. They don’t exist.
I’m still decompressing from the news and coming to terms with staying home and toughing it out. But meanwhile I’ve canceled my airport parking reservations, and have been on Hold (some people call this “Ignore”) for more than two hours with Hawaiian Airlines reservations, because their website won’t allow me to change or cancel the flight this close to departure.
All airlines are having extreme difficulties right now, so I’m not holding this against them, but it’s not helping my mood improve.
OK, enough grousing. I want to climb to the tree tops and SCREAM!!! But instead, I’m going to tell you how I’m going to cope with this f*cking disaster. Maybe it will help. I know I’m not the only one this has already happened to or soon will.
Some coping mechanisms:
- Be happy that you’re not the one who caught COVID (yet).
- Stop by your local pot shop for some edibles to get you through the shock.
- Don’t tell your friends. Let them be jealous picturing you getting tan and sandy on the most beautiful beaches on earth.
- Give your pet(s) an extra cuddle. They would have missed you terribly, and now you can snuggle them on the sofa while you binge-watch Breaking Bad reruns all week.
- Think of all the money you just saved! Oh, except for the airfare, which is NOT refundable. Bye-bye $$$$$.
- Break out that jigsaw puzzle you’ve been saving for a rainy day. It’s pouring right now.
Meanwhile, I’m going to practice gratitude — thankful to be healthy, warm, safe (as safe as one can be these days), and still connected to the internet so I can tell the whole world about my big disappointment. Oh poor me.
Good luck, dear readers! Go forth, do what you can do, stay safe, and start planning your next trip. Things WILL get better.
Cheers! Adelia
And if that’s not enough, here’s more “singin’ the blues” and a writing challenge!
