Life's too damn short

Last night I decided to make some important lists of things to remember for my overseas holiday… when the visas are done and the flights + accommodation are all paid for, the final thing every A-type personality does is make some more lists. Just to be sure.

I started to think back to my last overseas trip in October 2010 and of an experience that I will never forget, for all the wrong reasons!

Thanks to the French train staff strike, we were stranded in Paris for the day. We had been scheduled to take a train down to Nice, but the Parisians decided, on that day, it was time to show their dissatisfaction with the retirement age being raised.

This all happened 2 hours after my wallet was stolen on another train, traveling through Brussels.

Having lost a credit card and few Euros in the process, and filled with concern about whether we would have to pay for new trains, spend an extra night in Paris etc, I spent the entire day completely stressed out, and didn’t want to “waste” money on coffee, food, wine… I know, right? Me… not wanting to waste money one wine! How ridiculous. What can I say; I was young(er) and clearly insane!

What struck me last night was that I was given an entire extra 12 hours in Paris. Paris! The most amazing, thrilling, enchanting city! And I completely wasted it!

We had spent the first few days of our trip in Paris and they were magical. Then, a subconscious genie granted a wish I didn’t even know that I had, and we were given a small window of extra Paris-time which I squandered, waiting for the next leg of our trip to start. Concerned with what was to come, I totally missed the gift I had been given. Looking back, I cannot help but kick myself for how foolish that was!

Luckily, we live and we learn, so, I have decided that as I count down the days until my next trip, I outright refuse to waste a single second while I am in Amsterdam and Spain. From the moment I close my laptop next week Thursday, I am 100% committed to living in each and every moment that my vacation grants me! I am going to soak up every second, make the most of the up’s and the down’s and find joy in the inevitable delays that come with travel.

After all, you never know what amazing parallel opportunities arise from unexpected changes to “the plan”. Isn’t that usually when the most memorable moments are created?

I like to think so. x

Paris is just the best! - Images, my own.