Around the bend

I took this while driving through Ashley National Forest in Utah. It reminded me of what we face every day: beauty and vibrant life all around us, but we don't know what's around the bend. All we can do is prepare and do our best. 

I met with a woman whose 16 year old son died recently from bone cancer. Diagnosed when he was 12. What a shock for him, his family and friends. But she made the best of it, opening their home to his friends whenever they wanted to visit, day or night. And they came. Often. People from church and school (many she did not know) delivered meals, ran errands, mowed the lawn, walked his dog (the gift he asked for from Make a Wish Foundation), whatever would help when he was going through chemo or in the hospital again.  She said the day he died there must have been a couple of hundred people in and out of their house all day. He stayed as upbeat as he could til the end.

We talked about the benefits of the long goodbye. It almost makes the end easier because it's been coming for so long. I experienced that with my mom with Alzheimer's for 10 years. After doing everything you can to deal with the situation, you have to trust you will be ready for what's ahead.

When we took this long-awaited vacation out west, I thought it would bring wide-open thinking about what I want to do with my business and the rest of my life. I realized I don't have to be out in big sky country to think possibilities and listen to my inner guide. I can do that just as well sitting in our Florida room looking at the beauty of our backyard filled with trees, plants and birds.

The way to prepare for the curves ahead is to connect with our inner guide each day, reflect on what has happened and what is possible. Visualize ourselves handling it well. We never know for sure what will happen, but I believe this strengthens us for the challenges and delightful surprises that are just around the bend.

Customer Service

This was supposed to be the view from our hotel the first night of our vacation on the northern California coast. But when I called to confirm arrival time while we were driving that afternoon, we learned we did not have a reservation. The hotel was overbooked. What? My husband had reserved a room months ahead.

Reminded us of the Seinfeld episode - You know how to make reservations, but you don't know how to keep reservations!

The owner could tell my husband was upset and assured us he did not normally do business this way. Someone new had overbooked the hotel by four rooms that night. To make up for it, he reserved a room for us in another hotel in town. That's not what where we wanted to be, but when he said he had already paid for it and we would be staying the night free, we knew we were dealing with someone who cared about customer service.

I took this photo the next morning when we went over to thank him in person for our night at the other hotel. We saw why his hotel was booked solid. Excellent customer service and a beautiful ocean view. A winning combination.