From a Deep Pit...

Mark and I must love each other very much. Sometime this afternoon, I asked Mark for his passport number, so that I could check-in online for the plane, and lo and behold, we could not find his passport, anywhere.

Our flight departure for Fiji was supposed to be tomorrow morning.

For a few hours, we turned the house upside down. While Mark searched and searched. I considered all sorts of crazy ideas, from bribing the Fijian immigration official to let Mark in, to flying to Honolulu, the first leg of our flight and handling all the passport replacement from there. My heart was in my throat, just trying to come to terms with the many thousands of dollars that might be wasted.

Thank goodness one of us has a sensible head on their shoulders. I found it difficult to discern the most practical solution when I am in a deep pit of despair, as I was just a few hours ago. It was Mark who asked that I consider postponing the trip. As it turns out, and contrary to my initial assumption, postponing the trip costs very little money. Beqa Lagoon Resort (which is listed by the New York Times as one of the 1000 places to visit before you die) is a class act. They stated there was no reimbursement, however they could have me postpone the trip for a mere $75. Also, since I used my free United Air miles to book my flight to Fiji, postponing the flight was completely free, provided I not change the destination, and provided I use my miles before the end of the year.

There was some sunk cost, however: I could not refund the cost of my car rental in Honolulu, and I will be charged for a single night from another resort in Fiji. But I consider that minor compared to the health of our marriage, and our own mental well being.

Rather than tearing Mark's throat out, we hugged and commiserated with each other. In general, I am more disorganized than Mark. It could have easily been me with the lost passport and not Mark. On top of it all, Mark suffered a motorcycle accident last month, so there were other things more important on his mind other than our vacation.

The important thing is that we as a couple got through this relatively unscathed, and may even be a lttile stronger for it. In fact we are already fully relaxed and contented on the sofa watching tv. A far cry from the stress we felt just a few hours ago.


-- Post From My iPhone