Today we spent the afternoon in Split, Croatia. Our moods were positive and we enjoyed lunch at a quaint local restaurant. The last few days presented a much greater challenge to our moods. In a series of weather related incidents from fog in Denver, storms in Philadelphia, and overworked airline agents unable to keep track of our luggage, we left for Venice dubious as to whether we would ever meet up with our baggage again.

Luckily we had listened to our savvy travel agent at Diane.Presnar@AmericasVacationCenter.com and had packed at least a few essentials and a change of clothes in our carryon bags. But the hours of planning just the right clothes, items, and essentials for a long anticipated vacation seemed hopelessly wasted.Dismal thoughts that our vacation would be ruined creeped into our minds. Thousands of dollars spent on what would become a miserable 15 days in the Mediterranean. And indeed, we remained bagless the first two days in Venice. However, within hours of arriving in Venice, it occurred to us that we needed to do some cognitive therapy on ourselves. We stepped back and asked ourselves:

• How much will not having just the “right” clothes affect our good time?
• Can we use this story as a blog? (Seriously, we asked ourselves this question and guess what?)
• Will people really think we’re inappropriate if we wear informal clothes on “formal” night? And if they do, will it really matter in the long run?
• Can we not replace enough items to get by in various shops in Italy, Greece, Croatia, and Turkey?
• Do we ever think anything about how other people dress when we go on vacation?
• Can we not have a great time anyway?
• Will the friends who came with us really care?
• Could this incident generate some great, funny stories?
• Can we use this “tragedy” to keep ourselves focused on what’s really important?

On the third day, fifteen minutes before we left the port in Venice, our bags arrived at our cabin. We were very glad, but we were even more appreciative that we had figured out that what had seemed so distressing for a little while actually was not. People, places, and experiences matter so much more than a few clothes and conveniences.

Fact is, we had a pretty good time making jokes about the experience with our friends. We’re almost sad to have to stop making bag jokes. We wish you happy sailing through life. Oh, and forgive us for having a few less blogs in the coming couple of weeks. We’re too busy having a great time!

Comments

This post currently has 7 comments/trackbacks.
You can read the comments or leave your own thoughts.

Trackbacks

Prof.Lakshman (June 14, 2009)

    Last reviewed: 14 Jun 2009