(Everything Happens) For a Reason, II

Life will always throw you curve balls. It’s your job to swing the bat.
~ Sharon Purtill

If you’ve read my last few posts, you know that I believe that things happen for a reason. This spring, I had a few sudden changes in my Italy schedule that allowed me to meet some long-lost family. The changes were also going to allow me to spend time writing, which I have not been able to do given the work load. When I had to find places to stay on the fly, my friends who own BBs in Bologna and Sulmona luckily had rooms, so I was set until the second group arrived mid-May.

The Curve Ball

On Saturday morning, I received an email from one of the women in the May group, and she told me she and one of the other women were having some serious health problems. To honor their privacy, I won’t go into detail, but they were wondering how late they could cancel/postpone. Due to the nature of the issues, I told them that I would make the decision to cancel/postpone that day. They did not need the added stress of wondering what they should do when their health was more important.

Let me repeat that: Health is more important than any trip. Being away from home and being sick is not fun. No one wants to pay thousands of dollars to travel and end up stuck in their hotel room or, worse, in a hospital. And, as someone who has been in the hospital in Europe three times, I know how disconcerting it is when there is even a small language barrier.

So, to make a long story short, I spent most of Saturday and Sunday canceling the group’s reservations and trying to figure out what to do myself. My original plan was to stay in Italy until June 12, but (Hold onto your seats because what I’m going to say next will shock you…if you know me at all) I was ready to go home.

Swing and a Hit

If you’ve re-read that sentence to make sure you read it correctly the first time, let me assure you that you did. I am ready to go home. It was too late to cancel my reservations in Assisi, but I was able to cancel my Bologna, Sulmona, and Milano solo sojourns. The worst part of all of it was spending time”chatting” online with an American Airlines agent who tried to find me the best way to get home.

My June plan was to leave from Milano, but since I was going to be in Assisi this week, I wanted to try to leave from Rome without having to pay a fortune in change fees. The agent graciously worked for over an hour to find me a flight from Rome that worked. After I leave Assisi on Friday, I’ll head to Rome and depart from there on Saturday morning.

To be honest, flying out of Rome did cost me a bit more money than if I had flown out of Milano. That said, if you add the cost of a train from Assisi to Milano and a hotel there plus my time, I came out about even.

Another “Home Run”

If you have never been to Assisi, I suggest you spend a day here. There is a special feeling here…. It’s a very calming town (even when 10,000 tourists invade it). I had wanted to come here for that reason….although I did forget that the place is one huge hill. Every time I walk out of the hotel door, I stop, glance left (uphill) and right (downhill), and try to decide if I’d rather exert the energy on the way out or on the way back. I usually turn left.

Tomorrow I’m going to Perugia to meet with another cousin from my grandmother’s side. Adriana and I met one other time a few years ago, and until recently, we weren’t sure how we were related. Having met Davide and Lidia, though, I think I have figured it out and am excited to talk with Adriana.

Final Thought

My biggest prayer right now is that all of the women who have had health problems come through them better than ever…and that I get home without a problem on Saturday.