I’m sorry, I missed my post last week. The kids and I traveled over the holiday break. We were supposed to be home Saturday night. As luck would have it, there was also ice and snow headed to our hometown Saturday.
A few days earlier I moved our flight time up a few hours to try and beat the winter storm. Early in our travel day, it became apparent that the weather was moving in ahead of schedule. Our first flight was a long one. I refreshed the airline page throughout our flight. A friend of mine was also messaging me updates about the ice hitting early and rumors of the airport closing. As soon as we landed in Chicago, our flight home was cancelled.
Over the next two days, we were booked, cancelled, and rebooked on five different flights.
Even though we were ready to be home, I tried to make the best of our 48 extra hours in Chicago. A friend from Camp Widow had offered his home to us but he was an hour from the airport. Not knowing when we would be able to catch a flight made the distance a little too far.
By a weird coincidence, I texted my best friend midflight and found out she was driving to Chicago for work. We were able to book the same hotel for the evening. She was such a bright spot in our stopover. The kids were so excited to see her and her warm minivan!
The next morning, she took us to Target to get some extra layers. Chicago in January, without winter coats is very cold! We had a late lunch then parted ways after she dropped us off to see The Bean. A few quick selfies and we were off in an Uber back to the hotel.
By the end of day Sunday, we’d been rebooked on a flight Monday night. I felt confident flights would be back open then. The kids and I made a plan to see a few more Chicago highlights. Monday morning, we went to the Shedd Aquarium and then tried some deep-dish pizza. At lunch, the kids were exhausted and told me they just wanted to go home. They voted to skip seeing Sue the Dinosaur at the Field Museum and take our chances catching an earlier flight on standby.
Once again, we pivoted our plans and hustled to the airport. Somehow, we got four seats on the next available flight home. It felt like such a win! (So I did technically get home Monday night, but the last thing I could do was write a blog.)
Looking back at the delay, I was very calm and unbothered by it all. In the broad strokes of life, this was a very small problem. We had a place to sleep, and ridesharing to get us to good food and sightseeing. I don’t know if I would have always been this laid back about the scenario. It’s hard to know where the old me stops and the widow brain starts. But my composure made those 48 hours way more enjoyable and hopefully less stressful for my children.
