When Plans Fail, Kindness Prevails
Navigating Travel Chaos with Gratitude
As my daughter and I left the house for SFO, we had already been rescheduled five times on different flights to different destinations...there was a strike at Paris airport and all flights to CDG had been canceled, which meant we would land somewhere else in Europe and then have to figure our way to Paris from there.
My stomach churned.
I hate flying, to begin with, and this just added a whole new layer of complexity to our travels.
Under different circumstances, I would have just accepted the refund and booked a trip another time, but we were going to Paris to be part of the launch party for my husband’s startup.
We simply had to be there the next evening.
As freaked out and frazzled as I should’ve been, I remember saying to my 10-year-old: “I don’t know what the next couple of hours hold for us but we can either let it get the better of us or we can have a positive mindset.”
To be honest, it was more of a vocal reminder to myself than her.
She responded with: “As long as we’re together, it’ll all be good Mama!”
This child always gives me the perspective and encouragement I need in the face of perceived adversity.
I was carrying some pre-made tokens of appreciation, knowing I’d be handing them out to our Uber driver and airport staff.
What I didn’t know was how these tokens would carry us through this trip in the ways they did.
At the time we approached the service desk at the airport, our only option was to get a refund.
I explained our dilemma to the United Airlines representative — a kind lady who was shocked at the number of times we had been re-routed and our flights canceled in 3 hours.
She picked up the phone, determined to help us out, and 45 minutes later had us on a flight to London with suggestions on how to get to Paris from there.
As we approached the boarding gate, the agents there were tackling questions and complaints about flight cancellations, not being in the right service class, not having seats together, etc.
I walked up to the two agents when they had a free moment and handed them little tokens of appreciation … just because.
Again, I had no idea the impact it would have on their day ... I realized it only after we had landed in London and I read this Instagram post by one of them:
During the flight, I asked our crew what their favorite flowers were as they passed through, servicing the cabin and collecting trash.
Little did they know, it wasn’t just to make casual conversation — I was painting my artistic interpretation of the flowers they loved, for them.
Tears, hugs, smiles ... I got them all when I went around handing these little tokens of appreciation halfway through our journey.
Lots of interesting conversations followed: about their own lives, the juggling of their schedules, their hobbies, their varied experiences of being flight attendants, our shared struggles as parents of pre-teens!
Connections forged. Empathy shared.
They marveled at how calm my kiddo and I were given we had no idea how we would get from London to Paris since all train tickets were sold out.
They brainstormed how we might continue our journey.
An hour before our flight landed, the Purser (in-flight service manager) came to me with suggestions on where we could shower, how to get from one train station to the next, what to do with our luggage and where we could find some quiet spots to rest.
And you know what this experience made me realize?
People want to help.
They want to be kind.
When you go from being a nameless passenger to a fellow traveler of life; when you show someone you’re genuinely interested in them as a human, beyond their uniform and the role they serve; when you make an effort to help someone feel seen and appreciated, all kinds of miracles follow.
A tip from a crew member helped me snag the last two tickets left on a Eurostar train to Paris, while still in flight.
But we’d have six hours and no place to go after we landed…I didn’t know what to expect, but I was reminded of how I started my day and my kiddo’s wise words: “As long as we’re together, it’ll all be good Mama!”
To be continued…
What a wonderful post and story - and such a lovely idea to carry these small gifts/tokens of appreciation. I LOVE this idea. I always have basic art supplies with me when I travel and will now add some small pieces of card stock so I am ready to leave behind a tangible piece of appreciation. I think you are right that our innate desire is to be helpful and kind and sharing this story is a great reminder that connection and kindness go a long way to making our world a better place.